Italian Savings Survey: households and the challenge of inflation
Intesa Sanpaolo and the Luigi Einaudi Research and Documentation Centre presented the 2023 Survey on Italians' Savings and Financial Choices, entitled "Italian households and the challenge of unexpected inflation".
The study explores:
- the impact of actual and expected inflation on the behaviour of savers and its effects on income, consumption, liquidity, objectives and concrete investment and debt choices
- the adequacy of investor behaviour from the point of view of income and asset protection, emphasising the importance of financial education.
The survey showed that the return of inflation was well tolerated overall by Italian households, which for the most part managed to maintain their consumption levels and almost never took on debt, though the most severely affected had to dip into their savings or save less.
Of the sample, 33.5% identified cash and fixed-rate bonds as the most appropriate choices in an inflationary environment; around 35% thought it better to invest in real estate and other safe-haven assets. Italian households continued to show their traditional conservative attitude; historically, security has been the primary objective in their investments, and the survey reveals their difficulty in getting their bearings in a scenario that has long been ceased to be familiar.
Gregorio De Felice, Chief Economist Intesa Sanpaolo
The survey is based on interviews conducted by Doxa of Italian households with bank accounts.
The 2023 Survey on Italians' Savings and Financial Choices - Highlights
- 95% of households claim to be financially independent, up from 93% in the 2022 Survey, confirming that (despite the difficult scenario) their income remains sufficient.
- The share of households that manage to save rose to pre-pandemic highs (54.7% vs. 53.5% in 2022). The average percentage of income saved also went up (12.6%, from 11.5% in 2022).
- The leading reasons for saving were the home (30%) and children (16%) stand out; only 5% of respondents said they set aside resources to cope with rising prices. For one-third of the sample, saving is broadly precautionary, i.e. without a specific intention.
- Among financial investments, bonds are on the rise, reaching 28% of the portfolios of those who hold them and partly compensating for the decline in assets under management. The stock market remains in need of further attention: only 4.2% of the sample traded on it in the last 12 months. In alternative investments, gold (which interests 23% of respondents) and ESG ethical funds (13%) dominate.
- Despite increasing risk awareness, 86% of respondents said they have not taken out insurance to cover medical expenses; 68% have no life insurance.
- Only 38% of the sample is able to give a correct definition of inflation: more than a quarter confuse it with the price level; some with currency depreciation; others with deviation from the European Central Bank's target.
- Confirming this difficulty in getting their bearings, more than one-third of respondents said holding cash and fixed-rate bonds is the most appropriate behaviour in the event of inflation. On the other hand, 30% cited real estate; just over 10% gold and safe-haven assets.
- Faced with the return of inflation, Italian households had the good sense not to sell everything in a panic and to keep saving. However, it is clear from the Survey that there is a need for greater financial competence and literacy, for both young people and adults, in order to be able to face the new scenario in an informed manner.
Last updated 27 December 2023 at 10:11:38
