Netherlands residents had over 616 billion euros in savings last year, a new record

Higher wages meant that Netherlands residents had some extra cash to put into their savings accounts last year. And they did just that. Dutch households had a record 600.5 billion euros in their savings and payment accounts at Dutch banks at the end of 2024, up 24.2 billion euros from the year before, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) reported. According to the central bank’s most recent figures, Dutch savings abroad accounted for another 16 billion euros.

“The 24.2 billion euro increase in savings is substantial: only during the COVID-19 years (2020 to 2022) did Dutch households save more, at an average of 38.7 billion euros a year,” DNB said. In 2023, Netherlands residents’ bank deposits grew significantly less by 14.9 billion euros.

The increase in bank deposits is reflected only in savings accounts. The combined amount in payment accounts fell by 4.0 billion euros to 113.4 billion euros at the end of 2024. At the same time, the amount in savings accounts rose from 458.9 billion to 487.1 billion euros.

DNB attributed the increase in savings partly due to higher wages, which enabled some households to set aside more money. Inflation also played a role. “Price hikes make households more pessimistic about their purchasing power, so they tend to keep more money in reserve as a precaution,” DNB said.

In addition to increasing their savings, Dutch households also paid off more of their debts in 2024. According to DNB, the total household debt decreased last year.