Cash and stocks
Private households richer than ever: over nine trillion euros
Financial assets have broken the next record mark. Things are likely to continue to rise this year.
Richer than ever: Germany’s private households had around 9,004 billion euros in financial assets at the end of the third quarter of 2024 – a record sum, according to figures from the Bundesbank. Economists expect a further increase this year to just under the ten trillion euro mark.
The increase of 197 billion euros compared to the previous quarter was due, among other things, to price gains for stocks and investment funds in investors’ portfolios as well as valuation gains for insurance and pension claims.
Cash and overnight money make up the lion’s share
After deducting inflation, private households achieved a return of just under three percent on their financial assets as of the reporting date. However, the return could be even greater if so much money were not parked in checking accounts or low-interest current account accounts.
According to the latest Bundesbank figures, more than a third of all financial assets (3,342 billion euros) are cash and sight deposits that people can quickly access when needed. More than one in ten euros in this country is saved and not used for consumption.
Stocks and funds and are increasing
Private households have invested almost 20 percent (1,756 billion euros) in stocks and other equity securities, while investment funds account for a good 12 percent of financial assets at 1,102 billion euros. The numbers in all three categories have been rising continuously since the end of 2023.
In its evaluation, the Bundesbank takes into account cash and bank deposits, securities such as stocks and funds as well as claims against insurance companies, but not real estate. How the gigantic sum is distributed is not clear from this data.
Press page DZ Bank Federal Statistical Office: Savings rate Germany in an international comparison Time series ECB key interest rates Federal Statistical Office on inflation in Germany Bundesbank: Financial assets 2023 Financial assets long series Verivox Daily money comparison Bundesbank: Financial assets Q2/2024 Bundesbank: Financial assets Q3/2024
dpa
Source: Stern
