Shanghai's banking deposits reached 2,014 billion yuan (US$242 billion) in February, up 15.2 percent from last year, according to data from the Shanghai branch of the People's Bank of China.

Analysts have attributed the growth to the central bank's interest rate increase last October.

It is noteworthy that corporate deposits declined 16.3 billion yuan in the same month. Analysts regarded the decline as a result of the practice of local companies to pay a bonus to their employees before the Chinese New year, which fell on February 9 this year.

(Shanghai Daily March 17, 2005)