European citizens’ bank deposits have been brought back into the spotlight by Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, who is unhappy that the money is sitting in banks instead of financing national economies and, implicitly, the European economy, and companies on the old continent.
In a speech at the annual French Entrepreneurs Conference last week, Ursula von der Leyen said: „The second challenge is financing our economies. In Europe, we have no shortage of technology or savings. But we still lack sufficient capacity to develop European companies on a large scale. Too many projects are stalled because the initial investment is too risky, demand is too uncertain or capital is too expensive. Our companies know how to start in Europe. But they also need to be able to grow here. Too often, they go elsewhere for the financing they need. They shift their centre of gravity. Or they are bought out. Of course, we will not finance all this with public funds alone. But Europe has savings. And unfortunately, these savings are lying unused. Today, euro10 trillion of household savings are kept in bank accounts. And a large part of Europe’s savings is invested outside our continent.
Europe must now to put these savings to work for their companies. This is the objective of the Economic and Investment Union. We have put forward proposals on securitisation, investment by banks and insurance companies, and the integration and supervision of our markets. Together, these measures could unlock up to euro470 billion in additional investment”.
This is not the first time that Ursula von der Leyen has referred to the euro10 trillion that European citizens have in banks. As the BURSA newspaper pointed out, the Strategy for the Economic and Investment Union (EUI), published by the European Commission in March 2025, states: „Bank deposits are safe and easy to access, but they usually earn less money than investments in capital markets. EUI can support the well-being…
