The choices of retail clients of financial services were affected in 2025 by a lack of confidence among consumers and the fall in Euribor. Non-life insurance and vehicle leasing were affected by a fall in sales of new vehicles. The stock of private vehicle leases has diminished (see Figure 1) and growth slowed in the portfolio of consumer loans.
At the same time, loan interest rates came down in 2025 as Euribor fell, giving a boost to the issue of housing loans. The number of new housing loan contracts is almost where it was when Euribor was at its lowest.
Growth in global stock markets increased the value of investments as the assets of pension funds and the independent investments of retail investors grew.
Deposit interest rates fell enough that term deposits were a less attractive way of holding funds, and so they started to decrease in volume.