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The total net worth of Irish households has reached a new record, while debt levels have plummeted to a 14-year low.<\/p>\nThe total net worth of Irish households has reached a new record, while debt levels have plummeted to a 14-year low.<\/p>\n
The Central Bank\u2019s latest quarterly financial accounts show the net worth of Irish people rose to \u20ac772bn, which equates to \u20ac158,986 per person, or roughly \u20ac444,000.<\/p>\n
Household net worth is the value of total assets, such as savings and investments, minus the total value of outstanding liabilities<\/p>\n
According to the Central Bank, the increase in net worth was primarily due to the rising value of financial assets and increased investment in financial assets by households.<\/p>\n
Investment rose to \u20ac2.3bn, driven by investment in currency and deposits of \u20ac1.4bn, and in insurance and pension entitlements of \u20ac800m.<\/p>\n
Household debt fell by \u20ac600m to \u20ac136.9bn, or \u20ac28,186 per person \u2013 its lowest level since 2005.<\/p>\n
This was due to improved valuations of assets and rising investment by households.<\/p>\n
The value of households\u2019 housing assets fell by \u20ac2bn, reflecting the second quarter in a row of declining house prices.<\/p>\n
Household liabilities remained mostly unchanged during the second quarter, as the pace of active de-leveraging by households eased.<\/p>\n
Household debt continued to fall during the first quarter of the year, dropping by \u20ac600m.<\/p>\n
At the end of March, debt stood at \u20ac136.9bn, or \u20ac28,186 per capita.<\/p>\n
Household debt is at its lowest level since 2005. Since its peak of \u20ac202.9bn in 2008, it has decreased by 32.5%, or \u20ac66bn.<\/p>\n
Household debt as a proportion of disposable income fell by 2.9 percentage points to stand at 119.8%.<\/p>\n
The decline over the quarter was driven by an increase of 2.2% in annualized disposable income, in addition to the decrease in debt.<\/p>\n
Government debt increased by \u20ac9.6bn during the first three months of the year to stand at \u20ac234.6bn.<\/p>\n
This was largely due to net debt issuance of \u20ac9bn during the quarter.<\/p>\n
The increase in debt was partially offset by a corresponding rise in government holdings of currency and deposits, which increased by \u20ac8.1bn euro.<\/p>\n
As a result, government net financial worth decreased by \u20ac800m during the quarter.<\/p>\n