Investing.com -- How European households allocate their savings could have major implications for economic growth, with ING estimating they may have missed out on at least €1.17 trillion in wealth by favouring bank deposits over investments.
European household financial savings have risen to around 6% of income, roughly two percentage points above pre-pandemic levels. Higher saving has weighed on consumption, limiting demand for goods and services across the region.
The bigger economic question is where that money goes. European households have traditionally kept a large share of their savings in deposits, rather than putting capital into investment funds or equities.
The analysis estimates household wealth could have been €1.17 trillion higher between 2002 and 2025 if a quarter of deposit inflows had instead gone into investment funds. That is equivalent to about 7% of eurozone GDP. Investing the same amount in listed equities could have generated an additional €2.79 trillion, or around 18% of GDP.
The allocation also affects Europe's ability to finance growth. Banks can use deposits to lend to businesses, but the model is less suited to funding higher-risk companies in areas such as technology. U.S. household balance sheets contain liquid investments worth about five times their deposits. In Europe, investments amount to roughly half the value of deposits.
There are signs that European saving habits are changing. Since 2025, 37% of financial savings have gone into investment funds, including ETFs, compared with 24% between 2015 and 2024. Europeans have also directed more new savings into stocks, bonds and funds than deposits since 2025.
Deposits have fallen to 62% of household liquid assets from 67% in 2019.
There may be further room for that shift. Half of Europeans with savings surveyed said they already invest, with another 30% saying they would consider doing so. Risk remains a major obstacle, with 42% viewing markets as a "casino," and 35% citing insufficient investment knowledge.
How Europeans save — and why it matters for the economy
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