Nearly nine in ten Poles know the interest rate on their savings compared to only 71% of Belgians, according to an annual survey of savings behaviors of European consumers by ING bank entitled "ING Financial Barometer," published mid-March.
Some 80% of Poles declared that they know the level of interest rates on their debt, the said survey showed.
Knowledge about interest rate levels broader than in Germany & Belgium
More Poles started to be interested in the level of interest rates on their debt after the reduction in interest rates by the central bank NBP. Poles are more interest-rate aware clients than Germans, who are famous for their knowledge on the matter, as well as very affluent Belgians.
The survey has also returned other interesting results regarding Poles' saving & spending behavior: propensity to spend has increased in the recent quarters. Poland is closer in this respect to countries with good economic sentiment, such as Germany and the United Kingdom.
Another surprising finding is that in the case of private pension savings Poles are much more similar to inhabitants of the European South, who have a more “carefree” approach to the issue.
"In the case of pension savings in Poland, we witnessed a dangerous coincidence of two attitudes. On the one hand, Poles are concerned about whether they will have enough money when they retire and that the current financial situation will not ensure the standard of living enjoyed even by current pensioners. On the other hand, answers frequently suggest no need of saving for pension and a freedom to limit pension savings when the economy is improving," ING Bank Slaski economist Grzegorz Ogonek said as cited in the report.
In terms of spending, the percentage of Poles who need to economize on current expenses such as apparel or foodstuffs is declining. At the same time, the percentage of Polish respondents who voluntarily limited pension savings rose in comparison to the previous survey, which is a very disconcerting signal.
There’s a will to save but there seems to be no way
Readiness to save among Poles still looks encouraging, as Poland is one of European leaders in regular savings. The problem is that only 50% of respondents in Poland actually have savings.
So despite high propensity to save, Poles still have not been able to put aside a lot and are still a long way behind their western neighbors.
When comparing the amount of aggregate savings, the amounts set aside by Poles are one of the lowest in the EU. They constitute just 15-16% of what Germans or Italians own. Poland is even far behind Greece: our savings account for some 35% of what the Greeks own. Only Romanians, Bulgarians, Latvians and Slovaks are poorer than Poles in this respect.
Poles relatively often claim that they feel uneasy when asking for a loan at a bank, but a lot more persons feel embarrassed when asking their friends and family for a loan.
Poles’ financial situation stabilizes or improves
One of the most important conclusions of the report is that the financial situation of nearly 75% of Poles improved or did not deteriorate recently. This reading is positive in comparison with the European average of 63%.
Fewer people needed to limit their spending compared to the previous year, also a positive development. If Poles needed to limit spending, the cuts affected primarily spending for entertainment, vacation, apparel and beauty.
Four in five Poles who have savings continue to save, above the European average of 68%. Still, the Czech Republic is even better with 88% of savers putting aside additional amounts.
Poland is also one of the leaders in terms of countries whose citizens declared an increase in investments during last year.
One in three Poles is no longer in debt
The deceleration of economic growth and geopolitical risk limited readiness to take on more debt, thanks to which one in three Poles is now free of debt. A bank loan is the most popular form of debt: 25% of respondents have one. Credit card debt follows: 19% of respondents use that form of lending. Only 6% of Poles take loans from non-bank lenders.
Poles are moderately enthusiastic as far as credit cards are concerned: one in two respondents prefers to use overdraft.
Polish citizens also stand out against the European average in terms of postponing discretionary spending when short of money: as many as 72% of Poles prefer to pay fees for using overdraft than refrain from shopping.
Finally, Poles are well aware that taking out loans one may easily lead to a spiral of debt, the survey also showed.
Source: msp.gov.pl
