BERLIN, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Private household wealth has reached a new record high in Germany during the first quarter (Q1) of 2018, an official study published on Friday by the German Central Bank (Bundesbank) finds.
According to the study, the net financial assets held by Germans increased in value by 3 billion euros to the previously unmatched level of 4,136 billion euros (4,824 billion U.S. dollars) during the first quarter (Q1) of 2018. Including liabilities, total household wealth was measured at 5,875 billion euros.
The German Central Bank's definition of private household wealth includes cash, bank deposits, equities and insurance claims. The Frankfurt-based institution excludes real estate holdings in its measurements and provides no information with regards to the distribution of wealth.
The study noted that insurance- and pension funds, which offered low yields but were considered to be relatively safe, remained the most attractive investment vehicles in Germany (2,199 billion euros). A further 2,326 billion euros was held in cash and bank deposits.
However, the German Central Bank noted that a stock market boom in recent years had also lured many of the country's traditionally risk averse investors to capital markets. Just over 10 million shareholders were counted in Germany at the start of the year, the highest number measured in a decade.
Additionally, households were responded to a lasting low interest rate environment by taking on more debt (plus 12 billion euros in Q1). The overwhelming majority of total Q1 liabilities of 1,739 billion euros in Germany was hereby constituted by real estate loans and other mortgage products provided by domestic banks. (1 euro = 1.16 U.S. dollars)
