The continuing price declines on the stock exchanges after the start of the Ukraine war have reduced the wealth of people in Germany for the second quarter in a row.
The financial assets of private households consisting of cash, securities, bank deposits and insurance claims fell in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter by 98 billion euros to 7,496 billion euros, as the Deutsche Bundesbank announced on Friday. It was the sharpest decline in more than two years. The Bundesbank data does not show how the sum is distributed.
According to the central bank, the valuation losses for shares and other equity rights, shares in investment funds and bonds totaled around 170 billion euros. Last year, investors had benefited from rising stock prices.
Despite the high inflation, people were once again putting more money on the high edge. The stocks of cash and sight deposits, for example on the current and overnight accounts, rose by around 36 billion euros to 2197 billion euros. At the beginning of the year, the increase was only 12.5 billion euros.
Insurance and other retirement products remain popular. Claims against insurance companies rose by 22 billion euros in the second quarter.
After deducting debt, the net financial assets of private households fell significantly in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter by 127 billion euros to 5,406 billion euros. Real estate is not included in the data.