Household debt at lowest since first quarter of 2006

Household debt fell to its lowest level since the first quarter of 2006 in the period April to June, according to new Central Bank data.

The latest figures show debt fell to €153.2 billion or €33,056 per capita in the second quarter of 2015, a decline of €1.3 billion or 0.9 per cent versus the preceding quarter. For the same quarter last year, household debt fell by €1.7 billion.

The decline reflected debt repayments, write-downs and write-offs.

The level of household debt has fallen by 24.8 per cent since its peak of €203.7bn in 2008. However, while there has been a significant decline, it still remains high relative to other countries with just Denmark and the Netherlands being the only two other EU Member States to have higher debt relative to disposable income.

Household net worth rose by €129,454 to €600.1 billion during the second quarter, up 0.6 per cent on the first three months of the year.

The rise was large due to a €4.8 billion increase in asset values as well as a €2.3 billion decline in household liabilities.

For the same quarter a year earlier, household net worth rose by €23.2 billion.