The European Central Bank reported diverging euro area household and corporate trends in the second quarter of 2026. Annual growth in household financial investment slowed to 2.6% from 2.9%, while non-financial corporation financing growth rose to 1.7% from 1.5%. Corporate gross operating surplus increased by 3.2% after contracting by 0.4% in the previous quarter. Household consumption growth accelerated to 4.3%, outpacing the 3.2% increase in gross disposable income and lowering the saving rate to 14.4% from 14.6%. Household net worth growth rose to 5.3%, mainly because of stronger financial asset prices, while the debt-to-income ratio declined to 80.3% from 80.6% a year earlier. For non-financial corporations, stronger loan financing lifted overall financing growth, but gross non-financial investment fell by 2.3%, reflecting negative changes in assets including inventories. The consolidated corporate debt-to-GDP ratio decreased to 66.0% from 66.3% a year earlier.
European Central Bank reports household financial investment growth slowed to 2.6% as corporate financing accelerated to 1.7%
The European Central Bank reported that annual growth in household financial investment slowed to 2.6% in the second quarter of 2026, while the household saving rate declined to 14.4%. Corporate financing growth accelerated to 1.7% and gross operating surplus rose by 3.2%, although corporate non-financial investment contracted by 2.3%.