The net financial assets of Irish households fell by €41.1 billion to €80.9 billion in 2008, accordng to new CSO figures released today.
The latest data shows that the financial assets, which do not include housing or other physical assets, dropped by €27.3 billion while liabilities rose by €14.1 billion during the year.
CSO said a net incurrence of liabilities of €13.4 billion combined with a fall in the net acquistion of financial assets to €7.7 billion led to net financial transactions of -€5.7 billion in 2008.
This, it said, continues the trend observed in earlier years although to a much lesser degree.