The German Bundesbank published sectoral results from Germany’s financial accounts for the third quarter of 2024, showing private households’ financial assets rose by EUR 197 billion to a record EUR 9,004 billion, while non-financial corporations’ external financing increased to EUR 59 billion. Household liabilities rose slightly, but the household debt ratio declined. For households, the increase reflected EUR 73 billion in additional financial claims and EUR 124 billion in valuation gains, including EUR 43 billion from insurance and pension entitlements and EUR 15 billion from investment fund shares. Investment flows shifted away from deposits, with only EUR 9 billion invested in deposits versus EUR 42 billion in the prior quarter, alongside purchases of investment fund shares (EUR 23 billion) and equities and other ownership rights (EUR 7 billion); the inflation-adjusted total return on household financial wealth rose to just under 3%. Household liabilities increased by EUR 8 billion to EUR 2,154 billion, driven mainly by borrowing of EUR 9 billion, while the debt-to-GDP ratio fell by 0.2 percentage points to 50.3%; net financial wealth rose by EUR 189 billion to EUR 6,850 billion, and the Bundesbank reiterated distributional data showing the top 10% of households hold more than 70% of net financial wealth. For non-financial corporations, net external financing rose by EUR 13 billion to EUR 59 billion, including net loan borrowing of EUR 35 billion, of which EUR 21 billion came from abroad, while issuance of shares and other ownership rights remained at EUR 12 billion. The Bundesbank noted that revisions to the financial accounts and national accounts mean the figures are not comparable with earlier press notes.

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