The people in Germany lost billions in the first three months of the year as a result of the fall in prices on the stock exchanges as a result of the Ukraine war. At the end of March, the financial assets of private households were 7.588 trillion euros and thus 36 billion euros below the level of the previous quarter, as Deutsche Bundesbank has calculated. The authority counts cash, securities, bank deposits and claims against insurance companies as financial assets.
According to the Bundesbank, valuation losses on securities made a significant contribution to the decline. "These valuation losses were mainly due to the price falls on the capital market and particularly affected shares and other equity (minus 50 billion euros) and shares in investment funds (minus 42 billion euros)," explained the Bundesbank. The leading German index DAX alone lost ten percent in the first quarter.
At a record high last year
Last year, private investors had benefited from rising stock prices. Financial assets had risen to a record value of around 7.625 trillion euros at the end of last year, also thanks to people's efforts to save.
In contrast to assets, private household debt increased slightly. At EUR 2.062 trillion, they were EUR 19 billion higher than three months earlier. "The growth in liabilities was roughly in line with the trend of recent years," said the Bundesbank. The debt ratio, i.e. the sum of liabilities in relation to economic output, fell again slightly to 56.7 percent. The Bundesbank attributes the development to the increased economic performance.
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