(Finance) – The net wealth of households is slightly decreasing in relation to gross disposable income, the liabilities of companies are growing and the decline in the net wealth of public administrations has stopped. This is what emerges from estimates of wealth elaborated by Istat and the Bank of Italy with the aim of presenting the complete picture of the stock of net and gross wealth of the institutional sectors of the economy: households, in their dual function as consumers and producers of goods and services, non-financial companies, financial companies and public administrations.
At the end of 2021 the net wealth of Italian households amounted to 10,422 billion euros, or 176,000 euros per capita. Compared to the previous year, it grew by 3% in nominal terms but decreased slightly in relation to gross disposable income (from 8.71 to 8.66). Despite the slight increase in the value of homes, after the prolonged phase of decline since 2012, the weight of this component on gross wealth decreased in 2021 by more than one percentage point, from 46.6 to 45.4%. Measured in relation to the population, the net wealth per capita of Italian households at the end of 2021 was lower than that of all other countries, with the exception of Spain (where the latest available data refers to 2020). Since 2018, growth in per capita wealth has been modest for households in France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, while it has been more sustained for Canadian and especially US households, thanks to a favorable trend in financial asset prices. In recent years, and especially in 2021, the growth rate for Italy has been lower than that of other countries.
It continued to grow value of financial assets (+6.6%), driven by capital gains on shares and mutual fund units. The increase in deposits was also significant, albeit lower than that observed in 2020. Financial liabilities grew by 3.7%, mainly due to the loan component. Compared to some advanced economies, in 2021 the net wealth of Italian households grew at a lower rate, making it among the lowest in per capita terms.
There net wealth of non-financial corporations at the end of 2021 it amounted to 880 billion euros. Among real assets, which represent approximately 60% of gross wealth, the value of the stock of plant and machinery began to grow again together with other works, offsetting the reduction in that of buildings. On the financial side, the holdings of deposits increased in particular, followed by those of other accounts receivable, shares and other equity and derivatives, bringing the share of financial assets in total gross wealth to its highest level since 2005. Liabilities are grew more than assets, mainly due to the increase in the value of shares and other equity. The level of debt of Italian companies remains low by international comparison, albeit increasing in 2021 in contrast with the other major countries.
There net wealth of financial companies in 2021 it amounted to 686 billion euros. Gross wealth grew by 5.4%, above all thanks to the deposit component, which reached its highest weight since 2005 (22% of the total). There was, however, a decrease in the incidence of active loans, from 28 to 27%.
At the end of 2021 the net wealth of general government it was negative by 1,467 billion euro (over 82% of GDP). Total assets, both financial and real, grew by 3.6% compared to the previous year, driven, on the non-financial side, by the increase in civil engineering works (+24 billion), the value of which represents more than one third of gross wealth. In international comparison, the improvement in net wealth as a ratio of GDP between 2020 and 2021 was broadly in line with that observed in other countries.