Why Europeans save differently — and how to put those savings to work - ecb.europa.eu

By Andrei Dumitrescu, Zakaria Gati, Justus Meyer, Laura Parisi and Alessandro Spolaore Around 80% of euro area households do not own stocks or any other market-based financial instruments, unlike their counterparts in the United States. This blog post examines the barriers that keep many Europeans from investing and explores ways to broaden capital market participation. Euro area households hold substantial savings, yet around a third – nearly €10 trillion – remains concentrated in cash and low-yield bank deposits. [ 1 ] Meanwhile, 80% of households do not own stocks or any other market-based financial instruments. [ 2 ] Population survey data reveal a striking gap in capital market participation between euro area and US households.