New figures from the Central Bank today show that Irish household deposits declined in August for the first time since November 2019.
Deposits from households stood at €134 billion at the end of August.
The Central Bank said that as COVID-19 restrictions eased, withdrawals exceeded lodgements by €56m.
Today's figures show that the annual growth rate in deposits has declined from a Covid-19 period high point of 14% to a current rate of 10.9% as the economy re-opened and people spent more money rather than saving it.
The Central Bank also said that net lending to households increased by €77m in August of this year. This contrasts with August 2020, where repayments exceeded drawdowns by €74m.
Meanwhile, loans for house purchase increased by €24m in net terms over the month, contrasting with the same month in 2020 when they fell by €97m.
In annual terms, the growth rate remained positive, at 1%, down from 1.1% recorded a year ago.
