The deposit portfolios of Bulgarian banks added up to 19 billion euro at end-2007, the equivalent of 65 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), ranking the country 7th in this respect in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the annual market overview of UniCredit Group showed.

The regional leader is Poland with 139 billion euro in deposit savings, followed by the Czech Republic with 89 billion, Hungary with 46 billion, Romania with 38 billion, Slovakia with 31 billion and Croatia with 26 billion euro.

Bulgaria's deposit savings to GDP ratio is above the CEE average of 40 per cent but well below the eurozone average of 102 per cent.

Deposit rates have been creeping uo since 2007, when the banks stepped up efforts to secure lending resources. The average rate on time deposits in leva rose 24 basis points to 4.65 per cent in the first quarter of this year, while the average rate on time deposits in euro added 16 basis points to 3.92 per cent, the latest economic overview report issued by the Bulgarian central bank showed.

The rate marched on in May, reaching 5.19 per cent on time deposits in leva and 4.15 per cent on time deposits in euro. An increasing number of banks, however, are offering interest rates in the five to six per cent range on one-month deposits.