Vorarlberg residents maintain strong appetite for saving, bank spokesman says

People in Vorarlberg remain keen to save, with the region expected to record a savings rate of nearly 9% this year, Martin Jäger, spokesman for the Vorarlberg savings banks, told ORF.

Jäger said the high rate reflected economic uncertainty in recent years. Saving gives customers security, flexibility and independence, he said, and can help them reach bigger goals such as buying a home.

The traditional savings passbook remains the most popular investment option, according to survey data, cited by 77% of respondents. Savings accounts followed at 57%, then securities investments at 42%. Building-society savings, insurance savings and precious metals were also named, with precious metals at 30%.

Saving habits are shifting towards flexible accounts that can be opened digitally, Jäger said. Older customers are also increasingly using digital services, while younger people, particularly those from generations Y and Z, do almost everything digitally. They are also more willing to take risks: investing in funds is gaining ground against passbooks and building-society contracts, and cryptocurrencies are increasingly being discussed among young people.

Austria’s banks are marking the 101st World Savings Day on Friday. The day falls officially on Saturday, October 31, this year, so banks moved their programmes forward. The savings banks’ mascot, Sparefroh, is celebrating its 70th birthday. Like Raiffeisen’s Sumsi bee, it is intended to teach children the value of saving.

World Savings Day is still actively celebrated in Austria, even as it has faded elsewhere. Interest rates on traditional savings products have recently risen after the central bank raised the interest-rate level, while investment is increasingly shifting towards shares and funds.