May the financial mix that the Greek government wants to implement may have as a basic recommended investment (foreign, public or private), however the latest Eurostat data on costs and savings of households are not only encouraging.
The correlation between investment and savings has been emphasized a few times by the Bank of Greece Governor Yiannis Stournaras, and the figure is simple: if Greek households do not save their money and consume almost all of their disposable income, Money moves in the economy, no jobs are created and no more value is produced.
So the above, and despite the fact that for the same period household investments increased marginally by 0.2%, Eurostat figures could be characterized as it closed in 2024 with Greece recording the second highest decline in savings in Europe, with only -1.3%.
European averages are far from Greek performance, as a marginal decline was reduced by 0.1% while in the European Union (EU) there was a marginal increase of 0.1%.
A percentage of this recession in savings is due to the rise in private consumption, where in Greece it is milder than European averages, with an increase of 0.5%, but even if added to the increase in household investment, it is not enough to cover the “dip” in savings. During the same period, a significant decline in net income is reduced by -1.1% and a 2.8% rise in gross fixed capital formation.
It should be noted that savings should theoretically increase due to the occurrence of tax evasion, as explained by Yiannis Stournaras. However, despite the Governor’s warnings that private savings in Greece should increase to 9% of GDP in order for the country to maintain high growth rates in the coming years, this does not seem to be the case.
The fact is that in the midst of a trade war and with the recession knocking on the eurozone door, no one can be sure that the rate of private investment will continue at the same high levels, combined with other domestic pathogens, such as the low rate of private savings.
As a result, the state recognizes the need to fill the possibility of public resources, as it was shown by Increase this year’s RIP by EUR 500 millionas the future becomes uncertain, among other things, in the field of investment.
But the ability of Greek companies to invest and thus grow, is not limited to the aforementioned factors. As the National Bank analyzes analysis, and despite the fact that the prospects of sales of Greek businesses remain upward for 2025, the EU is continuing to continue.
This means that unless all necessary measures are taken, as technology plays an increasing role in the economy, Greek businesses will not be sufficiently competitive and productive to stand against their respective European.
In order to improve the business and investment environment, the EIB suggests that emphasis should be placed on digital infrastructure so that 100% of the population has access to high speeds and public digitization for all services.