While the Lithuanian household sector is increasingly active in putting their deposits to work, the majority of companies still tend to hold their funds in current accounts. No interest is paid on these balances, meaning the capital effectively depreciates. It is estimated that businesses lose tens of millions of euros annually in forgone interest. Dovilė Bansevičienė, Chief Commerce Officer at the digital Lithuanian-capital bank SME Bank, emphasizes that it is possible to fundamentally change this – solutions exist in the market to earn a return on bank-held funds while maintaining immediate liquidity.

According to publicly available data from the Bank of Lithuania, at the end of last year, household deposits in financial institutions totaled €27.15 billion. The vast majority of these funds – €19.075 billion (approx. 70%) – consisted of overnight deposits, i.e., money in current accounts that can be withdrawn at any time. The situation is even more pronounced regarding corporate finances. At the end of 2025, Lithuanian companies held €11.142 billion in financial institutions, of which €9.293 billion (approx. 83%) sat in current accounts.

It is estimated that if businesses received an annual interest rate of at least 0.5% on these funds, they would collectively bolster their budgets by approximately €46 million per year. The downside of inaction is that this capital simply loses purchasing power. However, as noted by D. Bansevičienė of the ECB-licensed SME Bank, there are several reasons why businesses avoid traditional fixed-term deposits.

“With overnight deposits, a dynamic business maintains liquidity – the ability to utilize available financial resources at any moment to cover short-term liabilities. This is critical for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that face unpredictable cash flows. Meanwhile, fixed-term deposits are often unattractive because early termination typically results in the forfeiture of all accrued interest,” the interviewee explains.

Many businesses fail to “put their money to work” simply due to a lack of awareness; there is a prevailing myth that deposits always require long-term, complex commitments. Other companies with significant cash reserves simply lack the motivation to optimize their idle balances.

Putting capital to work overnight

To maximize their funds, Lithuanian businesses are increasingly adopting flexible solutions common in foreign markets. One such tool is the overnight deposit offered by several local financial institutions. At SME Bank alone, more than 1,500 clients utilize the Naktis+ (overnight) product to earn a return on their account balances.

“This solution allows companies to earn interest on their end-of-day balances while ensuring full liquidity. In essence, the funds are ‘lent’ to the bank overnight, and by morning, the company has full disposal of the assets again. The primary advantage is that there is no need to break a contract or lose interest if the cash is needed,” explains D. Bansevičienė.

The service’s popularity is also driven by its ease of use. Once a contract is signed, interest for legal entities is applied automatically to business accounts with balances starting from €10,000, with interest paid out daily. Furthermore, all accounts are insured, and current annual interest rates can reach up to 1,6%.

“The most important takeaway is that this is an excellent opportunity for businesses to start utilizing financial tools to optimize their holdings. Operating across Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and the Netherlands, we see firsthand how sophisticated treasury management bolsters competitiveness. We are seeing a growing maturity in the Lithuanian market–businesses are now calculating not just direct costs, but opportunity costs as well,” emphasizes the SME Bank representative.