Bankers raise deposit interest rates to keep clients

Bankers are coming up with a new wave of deposit interest rate
increases for fear of losing their clients, who could be
discouraged from saving by the introduction on July 1 of the 16%
tax on individuals’ interest rate incomes, coupled with
expectations to see inflation up to 7-8% towards yearend.
After interest rates on deposits fell aggressively in the
first few months of this year, the trend seems to have reversed in
the last few weeks, with many banks preferring to pay more for the
resources attracted rather than lose clients.
CEC Bank for instance raised deposit interest rates by 16% (so
as to cover the tax introduced by the Government) yesterday, with
the highest yield currently at 7.54% a year for RON deposits and at
3.19% a year for euro deposits. Alpha Bank also responded to the
measure of levying tax on interest rates, by launching a four-week
deposit for which interest rates are expressed in net terms, with
the earnings promised to clients at the time of setting up the
deposit to remain unaffected by the tax.