A near ten percent rise in deposits has driven a sizeable increase in the financial assets of Chinese households during the first half of 2020, despite the adverse economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The financial assets of Chinese households saw growth of 7.4% in the first half of 2020, driven by a 9.6% rise in bank deposits, according to a report on global financial wealth by Allianz Group.
Global household financial assets saw an increase of 1.5% as of the end of the second quarter of 2020, with rescue policies of various governments helping to drive a 7% rise in global bank deposits.
Allianz data further indicates that in 2019 Chinese household financial assets saw growth of 10.0%, driven by a rise in insurance and pension funds, which rose by 15.3%.
In 2019 Chinese bank deposits increased by 12.7%, for the highest growth rate since 2013.
Insurance and pension funds accounted for around 10% of Chinese household investment portfolios, while securities investments and bank deposits held shares of 40.9% and 49.1% respectively.
Bank deposits as a share of household financial assets saw a steady decline prior to 2016, yet over the past several years have posted gradual increases, impacted by stock market fluctuations as well as the strengthening of asset management conditions.
