How much money do Italians have in their bank accounts on average?

How Much Money Do Italians Have in the Bank?

With stagnant salaries, decreasing purchasing power, and an increasing number of citizens struggling to make ends meet, it is interesting to look at the data that portrays the distribution of savings that each Italian can rely on, on average.

During the economic boom of the 1960s, Italians were able to set aside staggering amounts of money, making Italy one of the nations with the highest savings rates in the world.
However, the situation has radically changed today, with the economic stagnation and rampant inflation triggered by the pandemic.

On average, each Italian has €14,981 in the bank.
In total, Italians hold a wealth, both tangible and intangible, exceeding €10 trillion.
This is a massive amount considering that the GDP in 2023 was €2.085 trillion.

The Composition of Italian Wealth

Within this wealth, an important part consists of real estate holdings, followed by investments in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and pension funds.
However, the majority is represented by cash deposits in banks.

According to the latest data from the Bank of Italy (as of summer 2022), Italians have €1.262 trillion and €207 million in bank deposits, an increase from €1.240 trillion and €532 million in 2021 and €1.137 trillion and €717 million in 2020.

By the end of 2020, there were 75.9 million deposit and current accounts, meaning that on average, there are more than two accounts per family.
According to the Bank of Italy’s analysis, 77.1% of accounts have deposits of less than €12,500 (in 2020).

Income Disparity in Italian Bank Accounts

Analyzing the details of the Bank of Italy’s 2020 report, the majority of the approximately €1.138 trillion in Italian bank deposits fall between accounts with amounts ranging from €50,000 to €250,000 (43.5% of the total, representing only 6.9% of accounts numerically).

Accounts with less than €12,500 total 58,482,000 out of 75,900,000, accounting for 77.05% but only collecting 11.4% of the total liquidity (€129.875 billion).

Average Bank Savings of Italians

Considering these figures, Italians have an average of €14,981 in the bank.
The average for accounts with less than €12,500 is €2,221.
For accounts between €12,500 and €50,000, the average is €25,557; for accounts between €50,000 and €250,000, the average is €94,660.
The average for accounts between €250,000 and €500,000 is €325,928, and for accounts with amounts exceeding half a million euros, the average is €906,992.

It is impossible not to consider how the distribution of Italian wealth in current and deposit accounts is influenced by the deposit guarantee, which protects accounts with amounts up to a maximum of €100,000 in case of bank failure, as well as the exemption from stamp duty on balances below €5,000.