State-owned savings banks in Germany are reporting a flood of new deposits as people look for security amid the global economic crisis. Several state-owned banks — known as "Sparkassen" — said Tuesday that even with a government pledge to guarantee all savings they were seeing scores of new customers. "At the moment, security is at the forefront for the customers," said Volker Schleede, spokesman for the Sparkasse Essen. Accounts in local savings banks often carry lower interest rates than those offered by commercial banks, but are seen as safer investments because accounts held there are insured for 100 percent of their value. Deposits in commercial banks are legally insured up to 20,000 euros ($US27,000). Other savings banks across the country also reported spikes in deposits. Gerd Meyer, a spokesman for the Stadtsparkasse...
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