Despite the Corona crisis, Germans are getting richer and richer.
In the first quarter of 2021, the financial assets of private households increased by 192 billion euros to a new record of 7.14 trillion euros, as the Bundesbank announced in Frankfurt on Friday.
For the first time, the threshold of seven trillion euros was exceeded.
The growth is due in particular to price gains in stocks and investment funds.
How the financial assets are distributed in the population cannot be read from the numbers, however.
Cash and bank deposits, which are quickly available funds for private households, increased by 47 billion euros in the first quarter of the year. That is a little less than in the previous quarter. Claims against insurance companies increased by 27 billion euros. "Overall, private households still have a pronounced preference for liquid or perceived as low-risk forms of investment," explained the Bundesbank.
However, exposure to the stock exchange also increased further in the first quarter. Mutual funds were particularly popular. The households acquired shares in such funds for 25 billion euros. According to the Bundesbank, that was more than ever before. In terms of shares, investments were primarily made in domestic company stocks. Price gains on the financial markets provided a lot of impetus - a total of 63 billion euros was the increase in financial assets through valuation gains. Household debt increased by 17 billion euros to 1.98 trillion euros.