Financial corporations, balance sheet, August 2010

Total deposits in Norwegian banks amounted to NOK 2 318 billion at end-August 2010; a decrease of NOK 52 billion, or 2.2 per cent, compared to the previous month. Other deposits amounted to NOK 1 385 billion, while deposits in transaction, or working accounts, amounted to NOK 933 billion (see frame for definition of the two deposit types). This accounted for 60 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. Other deposits were reduced by almost NOK 10 billion, or 1 per cent, from the previous month, while deposits in transaction or working accounts were reduced by almost NOK 42 billion, or 4 per cent.

Seasonal factors affect the deposit figures

Deposits from employees, social security recipients and students amounted to NOK 703 billion at the end of August 2010. This is a decrease of almost NOK 8 billion from July 2010. The entire decrease stemmed from deposits in transaction or working accounts, which were reduced by NOK 9 billion to NOK 223 billion in August 2010. Other deposits increased by NOK 1.6 billion from July to August 2010. By comparison, the total deposits from employees etc. decreased by almost NOK 6 billion from July to August in the previous year. The transaction or working account deposits were also the main contributor to this decrease with a reduction of almost NOK 5 billion, but other deposits also decreased in this period. The deposit figures for employees, social security recipients and students usually follow quite a clear seasonal pattern with increases in June and December with disbursements of holiday pay and tax money, and half tax, and decreases in July and August with spending of holiday pay and tax money, and other months of seasonal shopping and sales.

Sharp decrease in deposits from foreign credit institutions

Norwegian and foreign credit institutions reduced their deposits in Norwegian banks by NOK 45 billion, or almost 6 per cent, from July to August 2010. Foreign credit institutions were the main contributor to this decrease. State lending institutions were the only Norwegian credit institutions that had a decrease in bank deposits, and only with NOK 253 million.

Foreign credit institutions had a decrease of NOK 57 billion, or 8 per cent, in deposits in Norwegian banks from July to August 2010. Of the foreign credit institutions’ deposits, 60 per cent is in foreign currency while 40 per cent is in NOK. All figures in the statistics are, however, reported in NOK so fluctuations in foreign currencies will affect the figures from month to month. Of the decrease of NOK 57 billion from July to August 2010 in deposits from foreign credit institutions, deposits in foreign currencies were responsible for NOK 33 billion, while deposits in NOK were responsible for the remaining NOK 25 billion.

Sharp increase in deposits from mortgage companies

Norwegian mortgage companies increased their deposits in Norwegian banks by close to NOK 9 billion, or 32 per cent, in August 2010. With this the deposits from mortgage companies amounted to NOK 36 billion at end-August 2010. The yearly growth was 37 per cent.

Norwegian banks increased their deposits in other Norwegian banks by NOK 2 billion, or 4 per cent, in August 2010. With this, interbank deposits amounted to almost NOK 50 billion at end-August 2010. Compared to the same period the previous year, however, interbank deposits have been reduced by almost NOK 16 billion, or 24 per cent. Norwegian finance companies have also increased their bank deposits, but only by NOK 90 million.

The Norwegian Central Bank increased their deposits by NOK 1.5 billion from July to August 2010. These figures, however, vary considerably from month to month.

Increase also in deposits from non-financial corporations

Non-financial corporations increased their deposits in Norwegian banks by almost NOK 11 billion from July to August 2010. The yearly growth was almost 2 per cent; positive for the first time since October 2009. There was growth in both state and municipal companies, as well as private enterprises. In state and municipal companies the growth was almost NOK 4 billion, while the growth in private enterprises was NOK 7 billion. For the private enterprises, the yearly growth was positive for the first time since July 2009.