Survey Among Bank Customers – Current Low Interest Rates Prompt Households to Save Less

The currently very low interest rates are having a decisive influence on the savings behaviour in Germany. These are the findings of a survey conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) among approximately 3,600 bank customers between October and November 2016, on behalf of ING-DiBa.

40 per cent of the respondents stated to save less or no money due to the low interest rate level. Saving levels are particularly low among households with a comparatively low net income and low financial wealth. At the same time, this customer group shows a decreasing interest in saving. By contrast, the survey shows that particularly in the case of younger and risk-tolerant savers, there is a growing interest in finding investment alternatives to traditional investments such as call money or fixed deposits. Securities and real estate are gaining in attractiveness as a result of low interest rates.

If negative interest rates on deposits were to be introduced on a large scale – almost 60 per cent of respondents consider this possible to happen over the coming year – many investors would change their money market account or invest in more risky assets. This particularly holds for investors who in the past had already been restructuring their assets on a regular basis in response to rate cuts.

The survey forms part of a research project conducted by ZEW on behalf of ING-DiBa. The project analyses the effects of low interest rates on banks and savers and is expected to be completed by September 2018.

Contact

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Martin Weber, Phone +49 621/181-1532, E-mail weber@bank.bwl.uni-mannheim.de