FEP - Eurozone Household Finances

• Part of these savings was the result of households taking a more cautious stance against an increasingly uncertain economic backdrop (precautionary savings).
• Our estimates suggest that a large majority of the excess savings (around 85%) built-in 2020 were 'forced' owing to the impossibility to purchase certain goods or services as a result of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) restrictions.
• This opens the door to a large increase in private consumption once restrictions are eased, which we currently expect to happen late in the second quarter of 2021.
• However, we assess that savings will remain above their pre-pandemic level during the rest of 2021, as many factors are still likely to weigh down on spending.

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