Date: 19th January 2017
Eurostat has released its figures for the third quarter of 2016.
The household saving rate in the euro area slightly dropped from 12.8% in the second quarter of 2016 to 12.6% in the third quarter of 2016. Similarly, the household investment rate in the euro area dropped from 8.6% at the second quarter to 8.5% in the third quarter of 2016. After a fall of those rates in 2008, they started to rise again since 2015. They have since remained stable compared to the business investment rate which dropped from 22.2% in the second quarter to 21.9% in the third quarter of 2016.
This raise of household savings and household investments rates is positive in the light of the continued work on establishing a Capital Market Union.
Better finance supports the idea that capital markets and individual investors should play a larger role in the funding of Europe’s real economy. To this end, and as part of the Capital Market Union launched in 2015, the European institutions act to support measures to increase institutional and retail investment into capital markets.
Better finance has stressed the need to place individual investors at the heart of the Capital Market Union since they represent the main source of long-term finance for the European economy. BETTER FINANCE has underlined the need to restore investors’ confidence and trust in capital markets.