07.08.2020

Survey: COVID pandemic leaves its financial mark on Austrians

32% of financial losses caused by the coronavirus crisis
Sharp increase in investment amounts
Financing intentions constant despite consumer caution

A third of people having to scale back

A representative Integral study conducted on behalf of the Erste Bank has found that a third (32%) of all Austrians are currently suffering financial losses as a result of the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 30-49 age group is feeling it the most, with 46% of these people saying they are suffering from limited finances. According to a survey, 4 in 10 (42%) of those gainfully employed are generally having to cut back on their expenses at present.

“Erste Bank will continue to support customers with loan and instalment extensions to provide financial relief”, says Erste Bank CEO Peter Bosek.

29% increase in planned investment amounts

A total of 81% (+2PP) of surveyed savers want to put money aside over the next 12 months. The planned savings amount has risen substantially compared to last year, from 4,200 to 5,400 Euros. Funds, shares and bonds are becoming increasingly attractive for Austrian investors, and have increased by 3 percentage points to 29%. Classics like savings books, which have increased by 5 percentage points (64%), and building-society contracts (42%, +2PP) remain popular. Life insurance (31%, -3PP) and property (16%, -3PP), on the other hand, are tending to figure less in plans. “In the ongoing low-interest environment, savings books are now serving more as short-term cash reserves. The low interest on deposits and the inflation on top of this mean Austrians are losing a lot of purchase power. We believe a fund saving plan is the most sensible provision option. You can start one for just 50 Euros a month”, says Bosek.

Significant increase in loan amounts

The number of people planning a larger purchase has, at 36%, remained nearly identical over the 12-month trend (+1PP). As per usual, car-buyers, home-builders and similar prefer to dip into their own reserves (83%). But around a fifth of people (18%, -1PP) also want to keep using bank loans or building society loans for their planned project, and are planning to borrow higher amounts: Planned loan amounts have risen by a significant 40% from an average of 71,500 Euros a year ago, to 99,500 Euros now. “Due to the crisis, volume has dropped for consumer credit, whereas the demand for home loans has grown, as housing has become more important during the crisis”, says Bosek.

^{Erste Bank savings and loan forecast Q2 2020: Integral surveyed 1,000 Austrians (representative of the Austrian population aged 14 and over) via telephone and online about their planned means of saving and investment, as well as their need for financing. The survey was conducted in the 2nd quarter between 17 and 30 June 2020. Unless otherwise stated, the comparative values are figures from the same quarter of the previous year.}