Households’ financial assets increased EUR 5.4 billion in the first quarter of 2010

In January-March 2010 households' financial assets grew by EUR 5.4 billion. Households’ net investment in financial assets totalled EUR 1.2 billion, and gains from shareholdings and fund investments boosted financial assets by EUR 4.2 billion. Financial assets at the end of March 2010 totalled EUR 162.3 billion, up EUR 23.1 billion or 16.6% on a particularly poor situation at the end of March 2009.

Households’ bank deposits remained virtually unchanged in the first quarter of 2010. At the end of March, these deposits amounted to EUR 71.2 billion. In January-March, households subscribed on net for listed shares and mutual fund shares totalling EUR 0.6 billion. At the end of March, households’ investments in fund shares and shares of listed companies totalled EUR 13.9 billion and EUR 26.1 billion, respectively.

In January-March, households’ loan-based liabilities rose by EUR 1.1 billion, and the stock of loans at the end of March totalled EUR 99.4 billion. Overall in the first quarter of 2010, as households’ financial assets outpaced loan-based liabilities, households’ net financial assets (financial assets less loans) increased. At EUR 62.8 billion, net financial assets were EUR 17.7 billion or 39.1% higher at the end of March 2010 than a year earlier.

In the first quarter of 2010, corporate loan-based liabilities remained unchanged compared with their level at the end of 2009. The stock of loans at the end of March (excl. domestic intercompany loans) was EUR 91.2 billion. Overall, companies' debt finance (loans + debt instruments) decreased by EUR 0.8 billion in January-March 2010.

The value of listed-share issuance by domestic companies rose by EUR 16.4 billion in January-March 2010. At the end of March, the amount of liabilities related to quoted shares issued totalled EUR 134.9 billion.

The above information is from the quarterly financial-account statistics compiled by the Bank of Finland. These provide an overview of the stocks of financial assets and liabilities of the different sectors of the national economy and of the related transaction flows.

¹⁾ Data excludes unquoted shares and other equity, and other accounts receivable. Shares in housing corporations are also excluded from financial assets.

Tables

• Selected financial assets of households, quarterly data
• Selected liabilities of households, quarterly data