"Now I'm Exhausted"... Where Investors Are Turning Their Eyes Again

[Anchor]

Deposit balances at major domestic banks have surpassed 1,000 trillion won. As the domestic stock market has recently suffered a sharp decline, funds in the market appear to be returning to relatively safe savings and deposit accounts. Banks are also stepping up efforts to attract customers.

On Money Move, reporter Lee Tae-gwon has more.

[Reporter]

Although the downward spiral has stopped, the KOSPI remains down nearly 30% from its peak.

With the semiconductor rally fading and high volatility persisting, exhausted investors are turning their attention back to relatively safe bank deposits and savings accounts.

[Lee Su-ho & Lee Su-jin / Gangseo-gu, Seoul: Recently, because the volatility (in the stock market) is so high, I think it's a time when attention naturally shifts back to the banking sector.]

In fact, investor deposits, which serve as waiting funds for the stock market, fell below 100 trillion won this month.

Demand-deposit accounts at the five major banks, which allow easy deposits and withdrawals, peaked at approximately 698.7 trillion won in June before plunging to the 640 trillion won range.

On the other hand, the balance of time deposits stood at 1,000.96 trillion won as of the 27th, an increase of nearly 7% from the beginning of the year.

The average interest rate on 12-month time deposits at banks rising from 2.84% per annum at the beginning of the year to 3.48% last month is also fueling a "reverse money move," with funds returning from the stock market to banks.

[Lee Jung-hwan / Department of Economics and Finance, Hanyang University: Thinking that (the benchmark interest rate) could be raised once more, expectations regarding the Bank of Korea's base rate policy are already being pre-reflected in market rates...]

Banks are rushing to attract customers by launching special high-interest savings products featuring double-digit rates.

Most maximum interest rates range between 7% and 9%, and products offering up to 12% have also emerged.

[Park Ok-soon / Gwanak-gu, Seoul: Back when it was just one-point-something percent, I used to think, aren't they all the same? But when they offer over ten percent, it changes your mind.]

However, experts advise that investors need to carefully examine these products, as qualifying for the maximum interest rate requires meeting various preferential conditions such as credit card usage performance, and the maximum subscription amounts are also limited.

(Photo courtesy of Seol Chi-hwan | Video edited by Park Ji-in | Design: Seo Seung-hyun, Lee Ga-jin | VJ: Jeong Han-wook)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.