Greek deposits at highest since records began in 1998

Deposits in commercial banks in the countries hit hardest by the euro zone debt crisis grew in May, indicating savers still have confidence in the countries' banking sectors, data showed on Monday.

Deposit liabilities at Greek banks rose to 379.7 billion euros in May from 373.1 billion in April, the highest since records began in March 1998, data released by the European Central Bank (ECB) showed.

Bank deposits in Portugal, Spain and Ireland were also on an upwards trend.

Irish deposits rose to 685.3 billion euros in May from 655.3 billion the previous month while Spanish deposits hit 2.239 trillion euros from 2.183 trillion the month before.

In Portugal, deposits rose to 308.9 billion euros from 295.0 billion and topped 300 billion euros for the first time.

Large monthly fluctuations are common in the figures, which are for all currencies combined and euro area counterparts. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

For Greece, however, Bank of Greece data have shown a fall in deposits in recent months. The Greek numbers cover household and business deposits, but exclude bank-to-bank lending, Greek officials say.

The bank has not yet published May figures.