Savings Accounts Lose to Inflation, but Brazilians Still Like Them

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Although savings accounts have been negative since last year, that is, with profitability losing to inflation, Brazilians still believe it is a good investment. A survey conducted by C6 Bank/Datafolha indicates that out of every ten Brazilians, three believe that saving is a good choice when it comes to investing their money.

In August, the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) stood at 0.24 percent. Savings accounts (considering investments made from May 4th 2012) yielded 0,13 percent in August. Nevertheless, the last Central Bank survey pointed out that in August, deposits in saving account passbooks all over the country exceeded withdrawals by R$11.4 billion. This was the best result for the month since official records began in 1995, the highest net inflow of resources for August in 26 years.

Liao Yu Chieh, financial trainer at C6 Bank, explains that Brazilians’ interest in savings accounts is due to the history of trust and the guarantee that the money is protected. “Nowadays, other (invesment) products, such as Bank Certificates of Deposit (CDB) and Real Estate Letters of Credit (LCI), have the same guarantee as the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC) that savings accounts have,” he says, but most people do not know that.

The survey also noted the perception of Brazilians about investments, almost half of respondents (48 percent) said they did not invest before the pandemic and are still not saving money. Among the respondents with less schooling, this represents 66 percent.

On the other hand, 17 percent say they are saving more money than before. This rate reaches 28 percent among Brazilians with higher education. The research also shows that 11 percent are saving the same amount and seven percent continue investing, albeit less than they used to. Of the total number of respondents, 15 percent report that they have stopped saving money because of the pandemic.

Source: Exame