Italians and savings: keeping money in the bank does not always mean protecting it. Here’s why

A reflection on the role of pure liquidity held by Italians in current accounts or as cash at home. A cultural paradox worth examining: in Italy, people save to defend themselves, rarely to build.

by Vincenzo Lana, investor and financial economics commentator

Italy has always been described as the country of great savers. A place where families, more than elsewhere, have learned over time to put money aside, to give up something today in order to secure a safer tomorrow, to slowly build up a wealth to pass on. And yet, when one looks more closely at how this saving is managed, invested or, more often, simply parked, a deep, almost cultural paradox emerges, one that deserves to be examined.

In Italy, only 32% of the population actively invests their savings in financial assets, while around 64% of households continue to prefer pure liquidity, leaving money idle in current accounts or, in some cases, still in cash. It is a figure that clashes with the historic image of a prudent, forward-looking country, but it tells a far more complex story, made up of fears, collective traumas, poor financial education and an ambiguous relationship with the very concept of investment. In fact, the latest data from the Acri-Ipsos 2025 survey show another sign of fragility: only 41% of Italian families are now able to save at all, the lowest level recorded since 2018. This means that, beyond the difficulty of investing, the difficulty of setting aside resources is also growing, due to rising living costs, the erosion of purchasing power and a climate of economic uncertainty that pushes many families to live in a constant state of defence.

When one looks at direct participation in financial markets, the picture becomes even more telling: just 7% of Italians invest in the stock market. An extremely low number when compared with other advanced economies, but one that can be explained by the combination of cultural and psychological factors that characterise our country. Among those who invest, there is a growing interest in instruments perceived as more “controllable” or familiar, such as government bonds, chosen by 14.5% of investors, and mutual funds, at 14.7%, with a particular concentration among those over 65. Once again, a preference emerges for what appears less volatile, less exposed, more reassuring, even at the cost of giving up potential long-term growth opportunities.

But the true pillar of Italian families’ wealth remains bricks and mortar. 75.9% of households live in a home they own, and real estate accounts for almost half of total wealth. A home is not just an economic asset; it is an identity symbol, a tangible certainty, something that can be seen, touched and left as an inheritance. In a country where trust in financial institutions has repeatedly been shaken, property has gradually become a kind of psychological refuge before being a wealth-related one, a social barrier against uncertainty.

According to the Consob 2024 Report, the main barriers to financial investments remain a poor understanding of basic concepts and a high level of risk aversion. Many Italians see savings not as a tool for growth, but as a form of protection, a cushion against life’s unexpected events. This defensive mindset is understandable, especially in a historical context marked by recurring crises, but it becomes problematic when it turns into inertia. The Italian paradox emerges even more strongly when one looks at the international comparison. Despite Italy being the world’s eighth-largest economy, in terms of financial education it ranks significantly behind. In many OECD surveys, our country is placed around 36th out of 39 countries analysed, among the last in the Eurozone.

Beyond any judgment, this figure tells an uncomfortable truth: the wealth accumulated over time has not been accompanied by a widespread financial culture. We are a nation of savers, but not of investors. Italian households have a net worth among the highest in Europe, equal to roughly eight times disposable income, but at the same time they are among the least active in using financial instruments. The result is an enormous amount of money sitting in current accounts, around €1,800 billion, which is quietly eroded over time by inflation.

This behaviour does not arise by chance, but from a layering of deep-rooted factors. Risk aversion is one of the most obvious: people prefer what appears stable and familiar, even if it is less efficient. Added to this is a lack of trust rooted in a long history of financial scandals, bank failures and products sold opaquely to small savers who often did not understand the risks involved. These events have left deep scars, feeding a widespread distrust of markets and of those who represent them. Another crucial factor is the generational divide. Those over 65 hold most private wealth, but they are also the age group least inclined to use modern digital and financial tools. This creates a kind of wealth immobility, in which large pools of capital remain idle, underproductive and difficult to channel into more dynamic forms of investment.

Distrust of private investments is therefore the result of a mix of cultural, economic and psychological factors. It is no surprise that, according to the latest surveys, around 75% of Italians made no investment at all over the past year. The reasons given are recurring: poor financial culture, fear of losing capital, pessimism about the future, a preference for liquidity as a response to unexpected events, and the cult of bricks and mortar as the only real form of security. In this context, talking about investments often becomes a slippery subject, perceived as far removed from people’s everyday lives.

And yet, the issue is not only about returns or capital growth, but about a society’s ability to use its resources efficiently. A country in which savings remain idle is a country that gives up, in part, on financing its real economy, innovation, businesses and the future. For this reason, in recent years there has been increasing discussion about how to make citizens more aware of more conscious money management. Structured financial education, for example, should enter schools not as a technical subject, but as modern civic education: explaining what inflation, risk, time and probability are means giving people tools to read reality, not to make forced choices.

Another key aspect is transparency in communication: fewer complex words, fewer slogans, more explanation of why certain choices exist and what their consequences are over time, positive or negative. In this sense, the role of digitalisation is extremely important, but only when it is done well: clear and intuitive platforms, legible costs, accessible information can lower barriers that today are mainly psychological. The aim is not to push everyone to invest, but to put people in a position to understand what they are doing, even when they choose to do nothing.

Finally, digitalisation and the spread of independent advice can play an important role in reducing conflicts of interest and increasing trust. All of this, however, takes time. Changing a country’s relationship with money is neither a quick nor a linear process. It is a cultural journey that passes through education, trust and the ability to accept that risk is part of economic life just as it is part of everyday life. The real issue is not a lack of savings, but the fear of giving them a direction: in Italy, people save to defend themselves, rarely to build.