La Jornada: Savings in banks maintain growth, but lose strength due to lower rates

From January to April, the balance of bank deposits, that is, all the resources that private banks obtain from the population’s savings, reached 9 billion 606 thousand 341 million pesos, 1.26 percent more, in real terms, than the 9 billion 83 thousand 174 million reported in the same month last year, according to the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV).

Although deposits continue to rise and in April reached the highest level on record, the growth rates of balances have decreased, since the Bank of Mexico (BdeM) made cuts to the reference rate, the instrument that sets the cost at which companies and families are financed and also sets the standard for the returns that can be granted to savers.

In April of last year, with the interest rate at 9 percent, the growth of bank deposits was 6.2 percent. The resources collected from savers are the fuel with which the banks operate, since with that money they finance a good part of the loans granted to families and companies, so the increase in deposits is an indicator of the confidence of the clients and the capacity of the financial system to continue with the loans.

In immediately available deposits, the balance of the deposits reached 6 trillion 85 thousand 894 million pesos, with an increase of 1.45 percent compared to April 2025, when they stood at 5 trillion 743 thousand 414 million. In the same month, but last year, the growth rate of these deposits was 7.13 percent.

The balance of time deposits of the general public reached 2 billion 233 thousand 289 million pesos, 4 percent more than the 2 billion 58 thousand 135 million in April of last year, when the growth rate of this type of deposits was 5.8 percent.

According to statistics, banks have also paid less interest to savers as the central bank has lowered the reference rate.

Until April of this year, they were paid 43 thousand 27 million pesos for immediate deposits and 53 thousand 32 million pesos for term deposits (those that pay better).

Last year, banks paid 54,559 million and 68,713 million pesos, respectively, according to the data.