Another Increase in 'Jjinbuja' Who Deposits 1 Billion Won in Bank Accounts and Earns Interest

The Proportion of Deposits Exceeding 1 Billion Won Decreases
Due to a Surge in Total Savings Deposit Balances

High-value deposits exceeding 1 billion KRW increased by nearly 10 trillion KRW in the first half of this year. The Bank of Korea attributed this to the 'impact of high interest rates in the first half.'

According to the Bank of Korea's Economic Statistics System on the 2nd, as of the end of June, the total deposit amount in bank savings accounts with balances exceeding 1 billion KRW was recorded at 781.232 trillion KRW. This represents a 1.2% increase compared to the end of last year (771.749 trillion KRW).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The amount of deposits exceeding 1 billion KRW decreased by 3.0% from 796.348 trillion KRW at the end of December 2022 to 772.427 trillion KRW at the end of June last year, marking a decline for the first time in 10 years. At the end of last December, it continued to decline by 0.1% to 771.749 trillion KRW, but this year it surpassed 780 trillion KRW, turning the trend of high-value deposits back to an increase.

The balance of time deposits exceeding 1 billion KRW in the first half was 538.531 trillion KRW, up 1.3% from the end of last year. During the same period, corporate demand deposits exceeding 1 billion KRW amounted to 231.556 trillion KRW, up 0.8%, and savings deposits reached 10.529 trillion KRW, increasing by 8.6%. Corporate demand deposits are products where corporations temporarily deposit surplus funds in banks, and savings deposits are payment-type deposits with free withdrawal and deposit.

Although the total amount of deposits exceeding 1 billion KRW increased, their proportion decreased. This is because the total balance of savings deposits increased significantly this year. As of the end of June, deposits exceeding 1 billion KRW accounted for 45.6% of total deposits, marking the lowest level in 6 years and 6 months since the end of 2017 (44.9%). This is due to the overall size of savings deposits reaching a record high of 1,712.826 trillion KRW as of the end of June.

A Bank of Korea official explained, "High-value deposits increased moderately, but the growth was not large," adding, "The high interest rates that continued through the first half appear to have influenced the deposit balances."