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“A large number, 36%, of those surveyed confirmed that they have saved or will save more. But when we dig deeper, the biggest savings seem like a New Year’s resolution. Everyone understands the need to save and promises are made, but this is yet to be done. reflected in stocks. On the other hand, 36 percent. respondents confirmed that they have no plans to change anything. It can be concluded that these people have probably not had a significant impact on the pandemic or that they have not seen the need to take further action, ”said Sonata Gutauskaitė-Bubnelienė, a member of the board of SEB Bank and SEB Baltic Retail Banking, commenting on the results of SEB Bank’s financial security survey.
Reduce commitments but do not want to learn
Among the population that plans to change something, 13 percent. He said he decided to reduce his financial liabilities during the pandemic. It is this desire that is well reflected in the actions of the population. According to S. Gutauskaitė-Bubnelienė, during the pandemic, residents had the opportunity to suspend loan payments and take so-called loan vacations.
“During the first wave, residents began to use this service, but knowing that the maximum period to take license to pay the loan was 12 months, only a small part took advantage of this opportunity,” he said.
Only 3 percent. Respondents intend to study, improve their grades.
At SEB Bank, a third of all those who applied for loan deferrals suspended payments for 2 to 4 months. 40 percent. clients chose to suspend payments for 4-6 months and 22 percent. opted for a loan deferral of more than half a year.
“It shows that people responsibly value their financial obligations and want to reduce them as soon as possible. And now even 70 percent. All clients who have taken this opportunity to defer loan payments have already reverted to normal loan repayment schedules. loans, ”said S. Gutauskaitė-Bubnelienė.
Since the first quarantine at SEB Bank, 1.7 thousand mortgages, around 600 consumer and lease loans. Since the start of the second quarantine, the bank has already received around 40 requests to defer housing loans.
“The number is incomparably lower than during the first quarantine, but has increased slightly compared to September-October,” said S. Gutauskaitė-Bubnelienė.
Photo from personal archive / Sonata Gutauskaitė-Bubneliene
15 percent of residents said they plan to seek more or change their current job.
“It is quite a logical action, considering that some businesses have been affected by the quarantine and residents have realized that it is always important to look for alternatives,” he said.
4 percent of residents plan to leave the country. True, S. Gutauskaitė-Bubnelienė was surprised that only 3 percent. Respondents intend to study, improve their grades.
“Many companies are looking for new business models, they are reorganizing and want to reduce their dependency on fixed costs. I’d like more employees to consider changing their qualifications so they can adapt to new business models, ”he urged.
In addition, it is observed that young people are the most flexible group that is more likely to respond to change and are willing to seek other alternatives.
“Among the country’s population aged 18 to 29, only 27 percent have no intention of making any changes due to the pandemic, much less than the general average. Many young people work in the sectors that suffer the most from quarantine: restoration , accommodation, leisure and entertainment, which encourages them to think about change ”, says S. Gutauskaitė-Bubnelienė.
Again, savings are valued differently
Furthermore, according to S. Gutauskaitė-Bubnelienė, those who earn higher income save more. Respondents also confirmed that those who were in the habit of saving were still saving.
“People with higher incomes had a stronger saving habit. Naturally, it is more difficult for those with lower incomes to develop that habit. 3 out of 10 wage earners save less than € 700. But probably most of the income from this population is destined to the payment of basic expenses ”, he assured.
During the pandemic, the way people valued their savings also changed. In April, many more people than usual (23%) said they had savings for six months or more.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Saving
However, the savings available in the fall were reassessed in a similar way to previous years. Now that you have savings for more than half a year, it says 11 percent. population, as much as in 2019.
“In the spring, we thought that such a response might not show a real increase in savings, but a more emotional evaluation of savings in the event of a shock. Now that as many residents again as last year say their savings would be enough for half a year or more, we can only confirm this assumption. In the spring, residents evaluated the savings available taking into account the reduced needs during the quarantine, with the intention of spending less, and in the fall they returned to the previous evaluation, ”said S. Gutauskaitė-Bubnelienė.
Income anxiety is higher
The country’s deposit statistics show that the retail deposit portfolio grew by 2.5 billion during the year. EUR – 17 percent. than in previous years.
It is noted that the population’s anxiety about income is significantly reduced compared to spring, when income was expected to fall by 48% of the population, but higher than in 2019. This year, a fifth (21 percent) of the population fear a drop in income, compared to 15 percent last year. Revenue will increase by 9 percent this year, up from 16 percent last year.
“It is not surprising that at the beginning of the first quarantine, many residents were pessimistic about the future change in income, since even a third of the total employed population did not work or worked less than usual. It was difficult to predict the extent of the job market decline.
However, the situation recovered fairly quickly, with the incomes of many workers returning to pre-pandemic levels. Sodra data shows that in the third quarter, 60 percent. 5% of workers received higher earnings than a year ago, and they fell more than 5 percent. only 17 percent. employees. Of course, the situation changed again in November, and it is understandable that the number of people who take a closer look at the change in their income in the coming months has increased again, ”said Tadas Povilauskas, economist at SEB Bank.
SEB Bank Economist Tadas Povilauskas
Even in the event of a pandemic, the general public assesses its financial situation in much the same way as last year, with a fifth of the population satisfied with it.
“At first glance, this is a surprising result, with residents assessing the financial situation of their home in much the same way as last year in October, despite the confusion and testing caused by the pandemic in every home. However, real indicators show that for many people the financial situation should not have deteriorated over the years. Although unemployment increased in Lithuania this year, the average salary after tax in the third quarter was 11.2 percent. Higher than a year ago, the average old-age pension increased by 9.6 percent, and inflation in October was only 0.7 percent. Of course, circumstances and moods regarding the pandemics are changing rapidly and it is likely that if we ask the same population at the end of November or in December, the population will evaluate their financial situation with a little more caution, ”said T. Povilauskas.
Compared to the period five years ago, the number of poor households has decreased. The proportion of the population that currently has no income for food and clothing is 3 percent, and for those who have sufficient income for food but not clothing, it is 20 percent. Five years ago, that population was 6 and 27 percent, respectively. Those who say they have enough income to save and buy more expensive purchases have increased from 18 to 25 percent in five years.
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