The wealth held by Belgian households increased in the first quarter of the year, mainly boosted by gains in the value of investments and shares.
The National Bank of Belgium (NBB) reported on Friday that the net financial wealth of households across the country increased by €26.5 billion in the first three months of 2024, to reach a total of €1,218.1 billion.
Financial assets rose by €26.7 billion, while household financial liabilities only grew slightly, by €0.2 billion.
The NBB noted that the financial assets of households increased mainly due to valuation effects on investment fund holdings (€15.8 billion) and listed shares (€4 billion). Insurance products also saw valuation gains of €3.5 billion.
Debt securities and unlisted shares recorded slight valuation losses (down €0.7 billion and €0.6 billion, respectively).
Throughout the quarter, households continued to invest in term accounts (€2.8 billion) and debt securities (€2.3 billion). Households also purchased more shares in investment funds and unlisted shares (an increase of €2 billion and €1.9 billion, respectively). However, there was a net reduction in the amount of listed shares held by households (down €0.8 billion).
Household financial obligations rose slightly in the first quarter, by €0.2 billion, to an outstanding amount of €350.2 billion. The increase in money owed by households was due to an increase in mortgage loans (€0.7 billion) and other types of long-term loans (€0.3 billion).
