Press Release - Euro Area Households and Non-Financial Corporations: 1st Quarter 2016
● Loans to households increased in the first quarter of 2016 at a higher rate of 1.7% (after 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2015). Household financial investment increased at a broadly unchanged rate of 2.1%. Household net worth increased at a lower rate (2.3% after 3.6%).
● Non-financial corporations’ net entrepreneurial income (broadly equivalent to current profits) was broadly unchanged after increasing previously (-0.1% after 8.7%) as net operating surplus decelerated and net property income decreased. Their financing increased at a broadly unchanged rate of 1.9%.
Households
Household gross disposable income increased at an unchanged annual rate of 2.5% in the first quarter of 2016. The growth rate of gross operating surplus and mixed income from the self-employed increased at a lower rate (first quarter 2016: 2.7%, fourth quarter: 3.1%), while the compensation of employees grew at a broadly unchanged rate (2.9%).
Household consumption expenditure increased at a higher rate (2.1% after 1.8%). The household gross saving rate in the first quarter of 2016 was 12.7%, compared to 12.5% in the first quarter of 2015. Household gross non-financial investment grew at a higher rate (4.6% after 3.9%). Household financing also grew at a broadly unchanged rate of 1.5%, while its main component, loan financing, grew at a higher rate (1.7% after 1.4%).
Household financial investment grew at a broadly unchanged rate of 2.1%. Among the components, currency and deposits grew at a higher rate (3.0% after 2.8%). Life insurance and pension schemes decelerated (2.8% after 3.0%), as did shares and other equity (2.6% after 4.0%). While the decline of debt securities decelerated (-11.8% after -14.8%), redemptions and sales continued to exceed purchases. Household net worth increased at a lower rate (2.3% after 3.6%), as non-financial investments, financial transactions and net valuation gains on non-financial assets were partly offset by holding losses on financial assets.
The value of housing wealth increased at a higher rate (3.9% after 3.0%). The household debt-to-income ratio decreased to 93.6% in the first quarter of 2016, from 94.4% in the first quarter of 2015. Table A summarises the main results for households, expressed as a percentage of adjusted disposable income (For details, see also Table 1 in the Annex).
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