Finland Times

Households' financial assets calculated as the total of financial assets and liabilities and other assets, thus, grew to EUR 560 billion, according to Statistics Finland’s data.

The growth from 2014 amounted to EUR 16 billion.

Over the year, financial assets increased by EUR 13 billion. Other assets or non-financial assets grew by EUR four billion.

The most important items in other assets are buildings and land. Households' debts also grew.

The increase amounted to EUR five billion while the level rose to EUR 147 billion.

A majority of the growth was generated from holding gains on financial assets.

Households’ net investments in financial assets grew somewhat in 2015. For a few years now, the level has remained lower than that seen in the first few years of the century.

Households’ net investments in quoted shares decreased by around EUR 0.5 billion, the data show.

Net investments in mutual fund shares grew by a corresponding amount. Deposits increased by close on EUR one billion.

The shift from fixed-term deposits to cash deposits continued as it had in previous years.

Even though indebtedness continued to grow also in 2015, favourable stock market price development and an increase in other assets ensured that households' total assets improved also in 2015.

The households’ financial assets accrued holding gains to the tune of EUR ten billion in 2015. Holding gains were generated in particular from quoted shares.

The biggest individual investment instrument of households is still deposits.

Despite low interest rates, households had EUR 80 billion in financial assets in deposits at the end of 2015 that corresponds with 28 per cent of all households’ financial assets.

The total value of quoted shares and mutual fund shares held by households was EUR 52 billion at the end of 2015.

The households' loan debts stood at nearly EUR 138 billion at the end of 2015. Households’ loan debts grew by EUR 5 billion.