A decrease in the premiums on deposits at credit unions and banks in 2010 may have indicated a lesser amount of new capital was needed to fund loans.

Research firm Market Rates Insight came to that conclusion based on data that showed in the beginning of 2010, the average premium on deposits was almost double the base rate (97%) and by the end of the year, the average premium shrank to 81% of the base rate offered on deposits.

The decrease in the premiums on deposits indicates less new capital is needed to fund loans and also indicates banks' need to reduce interest expense due to low interest rates on loans, MRI said.

Among term accounts, the 48-month CD experienced the biggest relative drop in premiums, from 82 basis points in January 2010 to 25 bps in December that same year. MRI found that the only increase in premium during 2010 was the 60-month CD, which increased from an average of 77 bps in January to 79 bps in December.

Among liquid accounts, checking accounts experienced the greatest decline in premiums relative to the base rate. The average premium on checking accounts dropped from 259 bps in January 2010 to 73 bps in December last year. Premiums on money market accounts dropped 17 bps from 59 bps in January to 48 bps in December.

"There are two implications to these findings," said Dan Geller, executive vice president at MRI. "The first is the supply of deposits well exceeds the demand for lending, and the second is the pressure on net interest margins is forcing banks and credit unions to reduce their interest expense."