NEWS Release Euro area households and non-financial corporations: 4th Quarter 2016
● Loans to households increased in the fourth quarter of 2016 at a higher rate of 2.1% (after 1.9% in the previous quarter). Household financial investment increased at a lower rate of 2.1% (after 2.3%). Household net worth increased at an unchanged rate of 4.2%.
● Non-financial corporations’ net entrepreneurial income (broadly equivalent to current profits) increased at a lower rate (1.9% after 3.4%) as net operating surplus decelerated and net property income decreased. Their financing increased at a broadly unchanged rate of 1.8%.
Households
Household gross disposable income increased at an unchanged rate of 1.9% in the fourth quarter of 2016. Gross operating surplus and mixed income from the self-employed increased at a lower rate (fourth quarter 2016: 2.3%, third quarter: 2.7%), while the compensation of employees grew at a broadly unchanged rate of 2.7%. Household consumption expenditure grew at a higher rate of 2.7% (after 2.1%). The household gross saving rate in the fourth quarter of 2016 was 12.3%, compared to 12.4% a year ago.
Household gross non-financial investment (which refers mainly to housing) grew at a broadly unchanged rate, compared with the previous quarter, of 5.6%. Loans to households, the main component of household financing increased at a higher rate of 2.1% (after 1.9%). Household financial investment grew at a lower rate of 2.1% (after 2.3%). Among the components, currency and deposits grew at a higher rate (4.2% after 3.8%). Life insurance and pension schemes grew at a lower rate (2.8% after 3.1%), and shares and other equity decelerated as well (0.6% after 1.1%). Investment in debt securities continued to decline at a high rate (-12.7% after -10.7%).
Household net worth increased at an unchanged rate of 4.2%, as net valuation gains on financial and non-financial assets as well as investments were only partly offset by the incurrence of liabilities. The value of housing wealth increased at a higher rate (4.9% after 4.3%). The household debt-to-income ratio continued to decrease, to 93.6% in the fourth quarter of 2016 from 94.1% in the fourth quarter of 2015, as disposable income grew faster than loans to households. 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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