Until a few years ago, these were accounts for “older and advanced”. Bank clients preferred savings accounts to term deposits, where savings are immediately available. Recently, however, banks have been expanding the range of term deposits. Česká spořitelna is introducing it again after six years. And interest rates are rising on them. In the Aktuálně.cz report, you will find out what interest rates your bank now offers.
As interest rates on savings accounts rise, so do rates on term deposits. Normally, you can now find an offer of three to four percent for an annual deposit. However, interest rates will not reach high inflation of 9.9 percent. However, this is actually not a savings product at the moment.
Banks are favoring savings in response to the actions of the Czech National Bank (CNB), which has been gradually raising the key interest rate since last year – it is now 4.5 percent. The rate means that banks deposit their free funds with the CNB with this yield.
“Česká spořitelna reacts to the development of interest rates and renews the offer of term deposits after more than six years. Term deposits are an alternative in the form of a deposit account and offer clients both insured deposit security and higher appreciation than a savings account – currently up to three percent, “states the bank.
In the case of term deposits, the client chooses a certain period in which he cannot touch the money without penalties or save any more money. This is only possible after the deadline. Some deposits with interesting interest rates have restrictions in the form of a minimum deposit, which can be tens or hundreds of thousands of crowns.
“The client can choose whether to save money for 3, 6 or 12 months. The rate for a three-month deposit is two percent, for a six-month deposit three percent and for a 12-month deposit 2.8 percent. The rate is guaranteed after the entire duration of the deposit, “states the savings bank, according to which it is possible to withdraw 25 percent of the amount without any penalty for the duration of the deposit. You can also make a term deposit in the application, the client does not have to go to the branch.
Komerční banka also recently announced a better appreciation of term deposits. It states that a term deposit for six months up to the limit of one million crowns has an interest rate of 1.5 percent, a deposit for 12 months up to the same limit has an interest rate of two percent.
UniCredit Bank also adjusted rates in February. “A six-month term deposit has a rate of 2.5 percent, three percent for one year, without limiting the amount or number of term deposits per client,” the bank said in a press release.
According to the bank’s spokesman Petr Plock, client responses from recent days declare not only an increased interest in savings accounts, but also in term deposits. Central bank statistics confirm his words. In December 2021, households had over 560 million crowns deposited on all types of term deposits. In the middle of last year it was 500 million.
Households have saved during the pandemic and currently have record savings. They want to at least partially protect their money from high inflation. However, we are not yet approaching the “golden years” of term deposits from 2008 to 2013. At that time, household deposits in these accounts reached over 700 million crowns.
Sberbank, for example, has also raised interest rates on time deposits several times. “We are raising interest rates on term deposits again from February 22. We are raising the interest rate on the annual term deposit by 0.30 percentage point to 3.55 percent per year, the six-month interest rate by 0.34 percentage points to 3.44 percent per year. interest rate of 3.33 percent per year, thus meeting the needs of clients, “says bank spokesman Radka Černá.
Term deposits are more advantageous than savings accounts because banks value when they know in advance how long they will manage clients’ finances. “This information is usually also adjusted by the amount of remuneration or interest rates. There is usually a direct relationship between the previously known time of deposit and the expected return – the longer you leave the bank with your funds, the more money you will save,” says Eduarda Hekšová, consumer director. dTest organization.
But people have to be aware of how long they want to keep the funds invested in the bank, and reckon with the fact that they will not withdraw them without penalty. “If necessary, they can withdraw the accumulated funds outside the set time, but the conditions of early withdrawal are often unfavorable and banks sanction it, for example, by losing the right to pay interest,” warns Hekšová.
According to her, those interested in a term deposit should study the business conditions and compare the given modeling with the competition’s offer. Sometimes it is necessary to meet certain conditions for good interest rates, such as using another product of the same bank or paying different fees for related financial transactions.
In addition to banks, credit unions also offer both savings accounts and term deposits. “Compared to traditional banks, credit unions have a more liberal approach to clients with whom they have a closer relationship in terms of decision-making powers and lending conditions,” adds Hekšová. However, savings banks sometimes require a local deposit, which can make savings more expensive.
A few days ago, the professional financial website Finparáda published a regular overview of the five best term accounts on the market. Several criteria were evaluated – for example, the amount of interest, the conditions of account management, sanctions for earlier withdrawal and the method of opening an account. The winners included the Ney consumer cooperative term deposit, the Artesa Standard term deposit, the Creditas term deposit, the IQ Maxi Expobank deposit and the Raiffeisenbank deposit. The complete offer of accounts on the market and their conditions is given in the table below.
Browse the current offer of banks in the overview table:
| Bank | Interest rates | Minimum deposit | Conditions |
| Creditas | 3 % | CZK 5,000 | The 3% rate applies to the deposit per year. In case of early withdrawal, the fee is 2% of the amount collected, at least CZK 1,000. |
| Česká spořitelna | 2,8 % 3 % |
CZK 5,000 | For a half-year deposit the rate is 3%, for an annual deposit 2.8%. Early withdrawal is possible free of charge up to 25% of the amount. |
| ČSOB | 2,5 % 3 % |
CZK 5,000 | For term deposits per year, the annual rate is 3%, the 6-month deposit 2.5% and the three-month deposit 2%. For early withdrawal (min. CZK 50) – 1% of the amount withdrawn. |
| Expobank | 1,75 % 1,9 % |
CZK 100,000 | The interest rate on the 6-month deposit is 1.75%, and 1.9% for the year. In the case of early withdrawal, the agreed interest is not paid, only the principal is paid. |
| banka wire | 1,6 % | CZK 3,000 | It is possible to choose deposits for only a few days or months, but the rate is lower. The annual deposit rate is 1.6%. Early withdrawal fee: valid interest rate x (number of days to maturity / 365), but at least CZK 1,000. |
| J&T Bank | 3,5 % 3,75 % |
1 million for new clients, for existing 100 thousand | The interest rate for the half-year deposit is 3.5% and the interest rate for the annual deposit is 3.75%. |
| Commercial Bank | 1,5 % 2 % |
CZK 5,000 | The rate for a half-year deposit is 1.5%, for an annual deposit 2%. The fee for early withdrawal is CZK 250. |
| mBank | 0,01 % 0,1 % |
CZK 1,000 | For 3 and 6 months the deposit is valued at 0.01%, for the year 0.1%. Early withdrawal fee – 50% of the calculated interest. |
| Moneta Money Bank | 2,5 % | CZK 40,000 | For term deposits per year, the early withdrawal fee is 2% pa until the end of the originally agreed period of the amount withdrawn; min. 0.5%, max 6%. |
| Postal savings bank | 2 – 3 % | CZK 5,000 | The rate is 2% for a 3-month deposit, 2.5% for a 6-month deposit and 3% for an annual deposit. Early withdrawal fee 1% of the terminated amount, min. 50 CZK. |
| Raiffeisenbank | 3 % 2 % |
CZK 10,000 | dKonto Garant pays a rate of 3% per year, 2% for 2 or 3 years, 1 withdrawal up to 20% of the current balance is without a penalty fee, otherwise the fee is 2% for prematurely collected amounts, at least CZK 1,000. |
| Sberbank | 3,44 % 3,55 % | CZK 30,000 | The rate is 3.44% for half-year deposits, 3.55% for one-year deposits, and the rate is lower for longer-term deposits. |
| Trinity Bank | 1,8 + bonus | without limits | Up to the amount of the deposit of CZK 100,000, the rate is 1.8%, the bonus is 0.15% with a deposit period of 6 months, with a longer maturity period of + 0.25 and 0.40%. |
| UniCredit Bank | 2,5 % 3 % |
without amount limitation | The rate is 2.5% for half a year, 3% for 1 year, early withdrawal fees are 50% of the proportional part of the interest – after at least half of the agreed term deposit period, you will pay 100% of the proportional part of the interest for the earlier withdrawal. |
Source: Finparada.cz
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