Swedish households kept their wallets shut and savings high in the second quarter of 2025, amassing SEK 157 billion in liquid savings, according to fresh figures from Statistics Sweden (SCB). That’s SEK 21 billion more than a year ago, showing that despite a fragile economy, households are still funnelling cash into bank accounts and funds rather than spending it.
Bank deposits alone grew by SEK 109 billion, while net fund purchases reached SEK 41 billion. Equity buying remained modest at SEK 4 billion. Seasonal boosts – tax refunds and hefty spring dividend payouts – supercharged the savings rate.
But the report also revealed an important shift: debt is climbing again. Net household borrowing hit SEK 44 billion in the quarter, up sharply from both the previous quarter and last year. Loan growth accelerated to 2.2 percent annually, compared with 1.8 percent earlier this year.
Sweden’s households remain among the most indebted in Europe. The debt-to-income ratio peaked at 177 percent in 2021, but even after falling to 154 percent this summer, families still owe more than one and a half times their annual disposable income. Yet the burden looks less alarming measured against financial wealth: debt now equals just 25 percent of households’ assets, down from 34 percent in the mid-1990s.
“Household saving in liquid assets was again strong, with deposits and funds driving the increase,” said SCB economist Emil Hermansson. His colleague Emil Jansson noted that while decades of property booms forced households to take on bigger mortgages, rising asset values – from housing to stocks – have helped offset the debt load.
Companies, too, are stepping up their financing. Non-financial firms raised SEK 48 billion in new bank loans and SEK 34 billion through bond markets in the quarter, bringing total outstanding corporate loans to SEK 2,886 billion.
The picture is clear: Swedes are saving at near-record levels while cautiously adding debt again. For policymakers, the trend could signal both resilience and fragility – households are financially buffered, but still reluctant to unleash the spending power that could fuel stronger growth.
Source: Statistics Sweden (SCB), Household savings remained high in Q2 2025, 18 Sept 2025
