The outlook for deposits and paid accounts is brightening in Spain after the slow awakening. The rise in rates has been noticed above all in mortgages, but the effect of monetary policy is spreading to savings. After years and years of no profitability, the best offers are now at 5%. The conditions and limits, however, somewhat dull the attractiveness.
The average profitability of deposit accounts with remuneration is 2.43% in Spain, according to data from the ECB. The eurozone average is 3.27%. “The process is going to intensify in the coming months,” says Francisco Rodríguez, researcher at Funcas. Until now, entities had abundant liquidity from the era of low rates and the ECB programs, and there was not much demand for credit either, he points out. Since they did not need to raise more liquidity, a war over liabilities has not broken out.
In any case, they do not lose their aura. “It is much easier to understand, without assuming risk and with the money protected by the Deposit Guarantee Fund (100,000 euros per client and entity),” summarizes Rodríguez. Among the large entities, BBVA has just taken the step with a 2.75% APR – the reference used throughout this article – for one year, from 5,000 euros, and Sabadell with 2.25%. Financial sources point out that it is not for all clients and is not offered on a large scale. CaixaBank has a one-year deposit at 1% plus an extra 1% with links, from 5,000 euros. Among the rest of the banks, there is no offer, it is done behind closed doors or it is combined with investment.
There is more movement in the online firms of the large banks. By paying more, they attract a customer who means a lower operating cost. It also serves to retain them, they point out in Funcas. For example, with 3.07% at six months from Openbank (Santander) or 2.85% from Evo Banco (Bankinter) at one year. Under Spanish protection, the best deposits with a general offer are in any case in SelfBank (3.30%, one year), EBN (3.20%) or Pibank and MyInvestor (3%).
You have to take into account the fine print. It is usually in the maximum amount of money that is remunerated, the links or the penalty for withdrawing the money early.
At the international level there are also opportunities, although the minimums are higher. The Raisin platform, which gives access to foreign offers, collects one-year deposits with 4.30% in the Italian Banca Sistema or 4.20% in the Portuguese BAI. Less than a year away there is also the Lithuanian SMEBank with 4.10% for six months or 4% of the Italian Banca Progetto. “The savings are protected by the country's Deposit Guarantee Funds,” says Mónica Pina Alzugaray, head of the platform in Spain. “To be sure, it is crucial to verify if it is a classic deposit and if the entity is in the EU.” Another piece of advice is not to exceed the 100,000 euros protected by the funds in the investment.
Apart from deposits, interest-bearing accounts are resurfacing. With more conditions, mainly taking the payroll to that bank, much more limited terms and capped amounts to be paid – even low –, the advantage is that the money would always be available. Here the maximum profitability is reached, with 5.12% from Openbank, 5.09% from Ibercaja or 5% from Bankinter and Unicaja. As it varies depending on the assumption, “once the amount and the term to invest are known, the APR must be calculated,” says Estefanía González, spokesperson for the financial comparator Kelisto. In the big bank, Sabadell takes advantage with 3.039% without connection, until January 2. In the eurozone there are other cases with more than 3%, such as in Banca Progetto or Trade Republic (up to 4%).
The best offers are obtained when keeping the payroll. “It stabilizes the customer, builds customer loyalty, and for the bank it has great informational value, with more data to offer products,” explains Rodríguez. Thus, payslips are the key to receiving gifts when changing banks: BBVA gives away an iPhone and Cajamar, Santander, Abanca, Deutshe Bank or Imagin, among others, pay between 50 and 500 euros in cash depending on the direct debit salary.
Between deposits and accounts, "the normal thing is that a single product is not enough to get the most out of it, depending on the balance and the conditions, you will have to do the math to know what is best," they warn from Kelisto. “You have to make a custom suit and not be too lazy to change, many promotions have a limited duration.”
Will remuneration go up? In recent weeks there have been upward changes... and also downwards. “Returns in longer terms have stagnated since October, with the first decreases. The consumer can consider contracting long term to take advantage of the current high rates in the coming years,” says Pina Alzugaray. At the same time, “we observe a growing interest from banks in paid accounts.” Especially if there is payroll involved.
