HELSINKI: The central and the local government’s net financial assets decreased by euro 1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2015, but the combined general government net financial assets grew by euro 10.0 billion due to holding gains collected by employment pension schemes.
At the end of the first quarter, general government’s net financial assets, i.e. the difference between their financial assets and liabilities, amounted to euro 120.9 billion, according to Statistics Finland’s data. During the quarter, although the increase in the market value of shareholdings boosted central government’s assets in the first quarter, increased liabilities depressed central government’s net financial assets from euro -59.2 billion to euro -61.6 billion, as per the data derived from the general government ‘s financial accounts.
The financial assets of employment pension schemes and other social security funds grew by euro 12.0 billion in the first quarter. At the end of the period, the difference between assets and liabilities was euro 184.7 billion. Just as in the three previous quarters, the assets of employment pension schemes were boosted by holding gains. During the quarter, employment pension schemes’ net investments in both mutual fund shares and quoted shares were negative.
