Germans have financial assets of almost 8 trillion euros, which also grew strongly at the beginning of the year. However, one popular form of investment is lagging behind.
Private households in Germany increased their financial assets in the first quarter of this year. The total increased by 216 billion euros to 7.95 trillion euros compared to the previous quarter, the Bundesbank reports.
This was due in part to price gains in shares and investment funds held, which were worth 129 billion euros more at the end of March than at the beginning of the year. Insurance and pension claims also gained 19 billion euros in value. In addition, households put more money into higher-interest deposits with longer terms.
Cash and deposits with negative returns
However, by far the largest share of financial assets (41 percent) is still in cash and deposits such as overnight and fixed-term deposits. The interest earned on these remains below inflation, so that a negative return on this type of investment slowly reduces assets.
Wealth unequally distributed
Financial assets are offset by debts, which amounted to 2.16 trillion euros at the end of the quarter. According to the Bundesbank, these hardly grew because few housing loans were granted. In total, the net financial assets of people in Germany grew by 214 billion euros to 5.79 trillion euros. According to the report, this gigantic sum is very unevenly distributed: 10 percent of households have more than 70 percent of the net financial assets.
In its analysis, the Bundesbank takes into account cash and bank deposits, securities such as shares and funds, and claims against insurance companies. Real estate is not included.
Bundesbank communication on financial assets Q1/2024
Source: Stern
