Ursula von der Leyen targets European savings for investment

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for the mobilization of European household savings to fund economic investment. Speaking at a MEDEF business meeting in Paris, von der Leyen characterized approximately 10 trillion euros in household savings currently held in bank deposits as ‘lazy money.’

To address this, Brussels is working on a Savings and Investments Union. The strategy aims to encourage citizens to move a portion of their wealth from traditional bank deposits into stocks, funds, and other capital market products. The European Commission suggests that approximately 70 percent of EU household savings are currently sitting in bank deposits.

The initiative seeks a dual benefit: providing citizens with potentially higher long-term returns and supplying European companies with the capital necessary for growth. Through measures such as securitization and the integration of financial markets, von der Leyen estimates that up to 470 billion euros in additional investment could be unlocked.