Savings withdrawals exceed deposits for the third month in a row

Withdrawals in savings accounts exceeded deposits for the third consecutive month, according to data released by the Central Bank on Friday (5). In October, the last month of payment of the second round of emergency aid, the result was negative by R$7.43 billion.

In September, the net outflow was R$7.71 billion and in August, R$5.46 billion, the first negative number since the return of emergency aid in April. Before, savings had four months of positive results.

In July, the modality had a net inflow of R$ 6.37 billion.

In the first three months of 2021, when payments for the new round of the benefit had not yet started, the results were negative by R$ 27.5 billion. As of April, net inflows (difference between inflows and outflows) turned positive again, with R$3.8 billion.

In May, the net inflow was lower, at R$72.6 million, but remained positive. In June, savings account registered the largest funding of the year, with R$ 7 billion.

In October, Brazilians deposited BRL 278 billion in the passbook and withdrew BRL 285.5 billion. Since the beginning of the year, savings have accumulated negative funding of R$ 30.7 billion.

Even with the negative result, the balance, which is the entire amount invested in the modality, remained above R$ 1 trillion in the month. The inventory reached the mark for the first time in history in September of last year with the significant increase in net inflows (difference between inflows and outflows).​

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the results of the passbook are impacted by the payment of emergency aid.

The amounts are paid through Caixa Econômica Federal’s digital savings account, which helped explain the sharp rise in net funding throughout 2020, which set a record with R$ 166.3 in net inflows.

After the arrival of the virus in the country, in March of last year, the book recorded high values ​​in net uptake in the following months, compared to the rest of the series.

Emergency aid was repaid in early April and ended last month. The new round had a lower value than the first version, paid between April and December of last year — initially R$600 and then reduced to R$300.

This time, the benefit had an average value of R$250, but it was between R$150 or R$375, depending on the size of the recipient’s family.​

At the height of the crisis, in April 2020, savings accounts reached a record, with R$ 30.4 billion. The result was surpassed in May of that year, with R$ 37.2 billion, the highest in the historical series so far.​

In August and September, however, even with the payment of the benefit, which kept the level of deposits high, Brazilians withdrew more funds from the modality.

The passbook yields the TR (Referential Rate), now zeroed, plus 70% of the Selic, which is at 7.75% per year.

The rule provides that, when the base interest rate is above 8.5% per year, the savings yield is 0.50% per month, plus the TR. If the Selic rate is less than or equal to 8.5% per year, the investment is remunerated at 70% of the Selic, plus the TR.