opinion poll
Despite inflation and low interest rates: savers remain loyal to their savings account
Many park their money in a savings account. Photo: Candy Welz/dpa-tmn/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Despite higher inflation rates, most people in Germany continue to invest their money in forms of savings that bear little interest.
Despite higher inflation rates, most people in Germany continue to invest their money in forms of savings that bear little interest.
In a survey commissioned by the Association of German Banks (BdB), 45 percent stated that they parked money in their savings account. 38 percent rely on call money or time deposits. The proportions were unchanged from last year’s survey. Multiple entries were possible.
The forms of saving mentioned yield little or nothing at all when interest rates are down. More and more institutes are now even charging negative interest on call money accounts above a certain amount. According to the survey, a third (33 percent) of the 1000 investors surveyed also own shares, shares in funds or other securities. A year earlier it was 31 percent.
Sustainable investments
According to the information, more than 6 million people in Germany are now investing in sustainable investments. Their number has more than doubled since 2019. “Above all, gaps in knowledge and a lack of information are still keeping many investors from making sustainable investments,” explained BdB General Manager Christian Ossig.
According to the information, half of those surveyed have heard the term “sustainable investment”. However, around a third of them do not know what exactly is behind it. Ossig still sees “clear room for improvement”, especially among people with lower earnings. «Unfortunately, it is still too often a question of income whether to invest in “green plants”.» According to the survey, the higher the income, the more investors rely on sustainability. One in four people whose monthly net household income exceeds 3,500 euros said they invest “sustainably”.
Sustainable investments are understood as investments that include environmental factors, social responsibility and good corporate governance. Last December, the EU laid down specific criteria for climate-friendly investments and, despite widespread criticism, proposed that investments in gas and nuclear power be classified as sustainable financial investments for the time being. Renewable energies are already classified as climate-friendly in the classification system called taxonomy.