Notes to the financial statements

19 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents includes short-term deposits with banks and other financial institutions, with an initial maturity of three months or less and credit card payment received within 48 hours. The carrying amount of these assets approximates their fair value.

The effective interest rate on short-term bank deposits is 0.33% (last year 5.4%); these deposits have an average maturity of three days (last year 26 days).