Summary
In February, the private M3 broad monetary aggregate, in real terms and adjusted for seasonality, would have remained at a level similar to that of the previous month. In terms of their composition, means of payment once again made a negative contribution and, in this way, maintained the downward trend observed since the second half of 2020. Meanwhile, time deposits continued to contribute positively to the monthly variation.
In fact, fixed-term placements in pesos by the private sector exhibited, for the second consecutive month, a positive monthly rate of change in real terms. February’s growth was 2.2% and, thus, they accumulated an increase of 21.3% in the last twelve months. In terms of GDP, time deposits reached a ratio of 7.5% in February, which was 2 p.p. above the average observed in the 2010-2019 period.
UVA-denominated deposits continued to show great dynamism, although their share of the total is limited. The balance at the end of February reached $86,630 million, which implied an increase of 27.9% ($18,890 million) compared to the end of January. Within these impositions, traditional placements represent around 75% of the total and the rest corresponds to deposits with an early cancellation option. Although both segments showed an upward trend, this was more marked in the case of traditional placements, which reached a new high.
Loans in pesos to the private sector, in nominal terms and adjusted for seasonality, exhibited a monthly growth of 2.6% in February, which would be equivalent to a contraction of 1% in real terms. The moderation in loan growth occurs in a context of gradual recovery in economic activity, which has led to lower demand for credit lines created during the health emergency, allowing the BCRA to focus credit assistance efforts on the sectors that are lagging behind. This was reflected in the lower impact of financing instrumented through documents on the total growth of financing in pesos as of the second half of 2020.
Since its implementation, the Financing Line for Productive Investment (LFIP) has been the vehicle used to channel commercial credit to MSMEs. At the end of February, loans had been granted for approximately $311,393 million, 29% more than at the end of January. As for the destination of these funds, around 84% of the total disbursed corresponds to the financing of working capital and the rest to the line that finances investment projects.
