German wealth
July 20, 2015
Germans' private net wealth has grown sharply, reaching a record high level, the country's central bank says.,
A report issued by the Bundesbank in Frankfurt Monday said "the financial assets of households rose exceptionally steeply" by just under 140 billion euros ($152 billion) in first-quarter 2015.
That represents a growth in assets of 2.8 percent compared to the previous quarter. Total household assets amount to 5.212 trillion euros, the bank said.
Growth comprised transaction-related acquisition of financial assets, such as cash, securities and bank deposits of just under 53 billion euros and valuation gains of financial instruments, primarily due to mutual funds and shares, of just over 87 billion euros.
No rush to finance
But despite record low interest rates, Germans did not substantially increase their debt load. Households' total liabilities consequently went up by 0.2 percent to 1.588 trillion euros.
Most of the 4 billion euros in new loans taken up during the quarter were for house purchases. Domestic banks were the primary lenders.
As a result, Germans' net financial assets also grew substantially by just under 137 billion, or 3.9 percent, to 3.624 trillion euros during the reporting period.
The debt ratio - defined as total liabilities as a percentage of annualised nominal gross domestic product - shrank by 0.3 percentage point to 54.3 percent.
The bank did not address distribution of wealth throughout the population, so it was not immediately clear if this had changed.
sgb/hg (dpa, Reuters)