In the fourth quarter of 2006, the annual growth rate of financing of the non-financial sectors in the euro area decreased to 5.5% from 5.8% in the third quarter of 2006. The annual growth rate of debt financing of the non-financial sectors decreased to 6.6% from 6.9% in the third quarter. The annual growth rate of financial investment of the non-financial sectors decreased to 4.7% in the fourth quarter from 5.0% in the previous quarter. The annual growth rate of financial investment of insurance corporations and pension funds decreased to 6.2% from 6.8%.

With regard to the financing of each non-financial sector, the annual growth rate of debt financing by households decreased to 8.5% from 9.2% in the third quarter. The annual growth rate of financing by non-financial corporations remained unchanged, at 6.7%. The growth rate of their debt financing rose from 10.8% to 11.0%, while the growth rate of their issuance of quoted shares decreased from 1.1% to 0.9%. The annual growth rate of general government debt financing decreased to 1.6% from 2.2% in the previous quarter. The growth rate of its loan financing decreased further from -0.5% to -1.5%, and the growth rate of its issuance of debt securities decreased from 2.4% to 2.0%.

As regards the financial investment of the non-financial sectors, the annual growth rate of investment in currency and deposits decreased to 6.6% in the fourth quarter from 6.8% in the previous quarter. The growth rate of investment in debt securities increased to 8.5% from 6.5% over the same period. The annual growth rate of investment in shares decreased to -0.4% from 0.6%. The growth rate of investment in mutual fund shares declined to -1.1% from -0.2%, while that of investment in quoted shares decreased to 0.0%, from 1.2% in the previous quarter.

The annual growth rate of insurance technical reserves, the major financing instrument of insurance corporations and pension funds, decreased to 6.6% in the fourth quarter of 2006, from 7.2% in the third quarter. The annual growth rate of the issuance of quoted shares by this sector decreased from 3.3% to 1.6%. The annual growth rate of its financial investment in debt securities decreased from 7.2% to 5.9% and that in shares from 7.5% to 6.7%.