Total public financial assets reached €1,199.1 billion by the end of 2025, contrasting with private sector holdings. According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Tuesday, this figure represented an increase of 5.9 percent, or €66.8 billion, compared to the end of 2024. The non-public sector includes credit institutions and other domestic and foreign entities, such as private companies.
Comparing 2025 to the previous year, the federal government’s financial assets grew by 6.4 percent, rising from €427.2 billion to €457.2 billion. This rise in the federal budget was driven primarily by an increase in the government’s liquidity reserve and an increase in equity capital held by Deutsche Bahn AG.
For the states (Länder), financial assets increased by 8.2 percent, growing to €307.5 billion. However, the growth varied significantly across individual states. Bremen registered the largest percentage increase at +28.0 percent, followed by Saxony-Anhalt (+25.0 percent) and Lower Saxony (+21.3 percent). The substantial rise in Bremen was largely attributed to received security collateral for derivative transactions being classified as liquid assets. In contrast, North Rhine-Westphalia (-6.0 percent), Berlin (-4.0 percent), and Schleswig-Holstein (-0.9 percent) saw a reduction in their financial assets. The decrease in North Rhine-Westphalia is specifically due to the use of financial assets for debt repayment, while the decline in Berlin is largely because “BEN Berlin Energie und Netzholding GmbH” is no longer categorized as a state sector entity since 2025, and its assets are no longer counted within Berlin’s total.
The financial assets of municipalities and local associations increased by 1.9 percent, rising to €252.8 billion. Schleswig-Holstein (+10.2 percent), Saarland (+6.4 percent), and Brandenburg (+5.3 percent) recorded the largest percentage gains in their local financial capital. Only Hessen (-2.6 percent) observed a reduction in its municipal financial assets.
Finally, the social insurance sector reported financial assets of €181.6 billion by the end of 2025 in the non-public sector. This represented a 6.6 percent increase, or €11.2 billion, compared to the previous year.
