Europe faces €1.17 trillion wealth gap due to high deposit savings

Research from ING indicates that Europeans could have accumulated an additional €1.17 trillion in wealth over the last two decades if just a quarter of their deposit savings had been directed into investment funds instead.

While eurozone households currently save approximately 6% of their disposable income—roughly double the rate seen in the United States—a vast majority of these liquid assets remain concentrated in deposits. In the eurozone, deposits account for 62% of liquid financial assets, compared to only 23% for investment funds, 10% for listed shares, and 6% for debt securities. This concentration is particularly high in France and the Netherlands, where deposits represent 73% and 76% of liquid assets, respectively.

The study suggests that mobilizing these savings into productive investments could support business financing, innovation, and long-term economic growth. Wealth composition varies significantly across the continent, influenced by national taxation, demographics, and pension systems, with higher saving rates observed in Germany and France compared to Spain and Italy.