At the end of the fourth quarter, German households had 5,575 billion euros at their disposal.
(Photo: Colourbox.com)
Frankfurt People in Germany have increased their wealth in the second year of the pandemic and are richer than ever overall. The financial assets of private households consisting of cash, securities, bank deposits and claims against insurance companies rose in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the previous quarter by 161 billion euros to a record value of around 7,618 billion euros, as the Deutsche Bundesbank announced on Thursday. The Bundesbank data does not show how the enormous sum is distributed.
At the end of the year, private households benefited from rising stock prices and put more money on the high edge. The Bundesbank put the valuation effects at EUR 86 billion, with price gains of EUR 34 billion for shares in investment funds and EUR 21 billion for foreign shares having a positive impact.
At the same time, people increased their holdings of cash and sight deposits by 31 billion euros. Because of the low interest rates, savers don’t earn anything with it, but they can access their money quickly if necessary.
In the fourth quarter, too, people took advantage of the low interest rates to borrow money, especially for housing loans. After deducting debt, the net financial assets of private households rose to 5,575 billion euros at the end of the fourth quarter (previous quarter: 5,436 billion). The data does not include real estate that has been showing strong increases in value for years.
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