Deposit rates rise, but most savings stay in checking accounts
According to Eesti Pank, the average term deposit rate was 2.1% in August. Deposits have grown by a billion euros in a year, but much of the money stays in current accounts.
All years as a table
| Year | Revenue | Profit | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 523 309 261 € | 310 800 000 € | 1392 |
| 2024 | 618 549 544 € | 323 000 000 € | 1305 |
| 2023 | 637 132 319 € | 428 000 000 € | 1355 |
| 2022 | 353 477 309 € | 207 800 000 € | 1406 |
| 2021 | 300 915 803 € | 186 500 000 € | 1637 |
| 2020 | 285 575 575 € | 187 800 000 € | 2120 |
| 2019 | 304 301 498 € | — | 2098 |
Interest rates on term deposits in Estonian commercial banks have risen along with Euribor, and forecasts suggest the rise will continue in the near future. According to ERR News, the volume of deposits has also grown, but most of the money still sits in current accounts.
According to Eesti Pank, the average term deposit rate was 2.1 percent in August, 2.05 percent in July and 1.97 percent a year earlier. Rates on one-year deposits have risen to about 2.5 percent. Eesti Pank economist Taavi Raudsaar says banks need to attract deposits to have money to lend, and as market rates have risen, they must lure money in with higher rates. Over a two-year horizon, he expects deposit rates to grow a little more, because Euribor expectations point upward.
Swedbank has raised deposit rates three times this year. Tarmo Ulla, the bank's head of retail banking, says it currently offers 2.5 percent for locking money in for 12 months, and for those who want to keep liquidity the bank recommends a savings product with a rate of 1.75 percent. SEB also offers a one-year term deposit at 2.5 percent.
According to Eesti Pank statistics, the volume of deposits has grown by a billion euros, or 7.5 percent, over the past year. Elisabet Visnapuu, SEB's head of savings and investment, says the growth is driven not only by higher rates but also by the removal of the tax hump, which raised people's net salaries. Wages have risen, but there is also economic uncertainty, and people increasingly understand how important a financial buffer is.
For many people, though, money still sits in current accounts. Ulla says household deposit volumes have grown steadily, showing the effect of wage growth and changes in consumption habits, but deposits are very unevenly distributed among private customers. About 72 percent of Swedbank's own clients, he says, live from paycheck to paycheck.
According to the business register, Swedbank AS earned a net profit of €310.8 million in 2025 (2024: €323.0 million) and employed 1,392 people. AS SEB Pank earned €163.6 million (2024: €301.5 million) with 1,053 employees. These are the Estonian banks' own reports, not their groups'.