The net financial assets of Belgians decreased by 53.3 billion euros during the second quarter. “This is the biggest drop since the first quarter of 2020, when the coronavirus crisis began.“, the National Bank said on Wednesday.
At the end of June, Belgians had a total of 1,145.1 billion euros in net assets. Net financial assets consist of the money they have in cash, bank accounts, stocks, investment funds, insurance products. From which are subtracted 332.5 billion euros of debts (such as loans and mortgages). Real estate is not included in financial assets.
The cause: falling stock prices and rising interest rates
According to the National Bank, the decline in assets is linked to the fall in stock prices and the rise in interest rates. These led to a €24.2 billion drop in the value of mutual funds during the second quarter. The rise in the yield curve reduced the value of insurance products by 23.8 billion euros, while equities lost 12.7 billion euros due to the weak performance of the stock markets.
For their part, the financial commitments (debts) of Belgians increased by 5.4 billion euros to reach 332.5 billion euros, mainly due to mortgage loans (+3.7 billion euros).
