Past choices are visible in today’s balance sheets
Household balance sheets reflect decades of saving and investment decisions, asset-price movements and institutional arrangements. In 2025, eurozone households held almost €220,000 in financial assets per household, including €69,000 in deposits, €56,000 in insurance and pension entitlements, €46,000 in unlisted equity and €43,000 in market-based assets. Average financial liabilities stood at €53,000. The level and composition of wealth differ markedly across countries. These differences reflect not only household investment choices, but also income, demographics, home ownership, taxation and pension systems.

Household financial wealth varies widely across Europe

To focus on assets over which households generally have more direct control, we narrow the comparison to currency and deposits, investment funds, listed shares and debt securities. Together, these relatively liquid assets account for around half of eurozone household financial wealth. Deposits alone represent 31% of total financial assets, while the three market-based categories account for another 19%. Of course, pension entitlements, insurance products and unlisted equity are also important components of wealth, but households cannot usually reallocate them as readily as money held in deposits or investment products. The liquid part of the balance sheet therefore offers a clearer view of households’ immediate portfolio choices.

Only about half of financial wealth is readily reallocated

Europe remains deposit-heavy, although the balance is shifting
Within these liquid portfolios, deposits remain dominant. They account for 62% of the eurozone total, compared with 23% for investment funds, 10% for listed shares and 6% for debt securities. The preference for deposits is even more pronounced in France and the Netherlands, where they represent 73% and 76% of liquid assets, respectively. Belgium and Italy hold larger shares of their liquid portfolios in market-based assets.

Deposits dominate liquid assets, especially in France and the Netherlands, where liquid assets are also a smaller part of the financial portfolio

The composition is beginning to change. Investment funds accounted for 23% of eurozone liquid assets in 2025, up from 20% in 2019, while the listed-share component rose from 8% to 10%. Over the same period, the share held in deposits declined from 67% to 62%, its lowest level since 2012. These changes reflect a combination of new investment flows and differences in asset-price performance. All in all, the direction is encouraging, but the legacy of past choices remains substantial.

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