Even returning to yield more than inflation, the most traditional financial application of Brazilians continues to face the flight of resources. In November, Brazilians withdrew R$ 7.42 billion more than they deposited in their savings accounts, informed today (6) the Central Bank (BC).
The net withdrawal (withdrawals minus deposits) is the second highest for the month since the beginning of the historical series, in 1995. It only loses to November of last year, when account holders withdrew BRL 12.38 billion more than they deposited.
With November’s performance, savings accumulated a net withdrawal of R$ 109.47 billion in the accumulated result for the year. This is also the largest cumulative withdrawal for the period since 1995.
In 2022, the book registered net funding (more deposits than withdrawals) only in April, when the flow was positive at R$ 3.51 billion. In the other months, withdrawals exceeded deposits, in a scenario of high inflation and debt. Yields once again gained from inflation due to increases in the Selic rate (the economy’s basic interest rate), but other fixed-income investments are more attractive than savings.
In 2020, savings had registered a record net inflow (deposits minus withdrawals) of BRL 166.31 billion. The instability in the public bond market at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic and the payment of emergency aid, which was deposited in digital savings accounts at Caixa Econômica Federal, contributed to the result.
Last year, savings had registered a net withdrawal of R$ 35.5 billion. The application was pressured by the end of emergency aid, low income and the greater indebtedness of Brazilians. The net withdrawal – the difference between withdrawals and deposits – was only greater than that recorded in 2015 (BRL 53.57 billion) and in 2016 (BRL 40.7 billion). In those years, the strong economic crisis led Brazilians to withdraw funds from the application.
Performance
Until recently, savings yielded 70% of the Selic Rate (basic interest rate for the economy). Since December of last year, the application started to yield the equivalent of the reference rate (TR) plus 6.17% per annum, because the Selic was once again above 8.5% per annum. Currently, basic interest rates are 13.75% per annum, which made the financial investment stop losing to inflation for the first time in two years??
In the 12 months ending in November, the application yielded 7.67%, according to the Central Bank. In the same period, the National Consumer Price Index-15 (IPCA-15), which works as a preview of official inflation, reached 6.17%. The full IPCA for November will be released next Friday (9) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
