World wealth sank in 2022 - a negative year for almost all asset classes on the financial markets. Global household financial assets even recorded the sharpest fall since the global financial crisis (-2.7%).

Liabilities increased at a higher rate than assets, causing net wealth to rise by just 0.41TP3Q, according to Allianz's latest annual global wealth report.

Underpinning this growth were bank deposits, which increased at a faster rate than in the previous year. "Although the insurance/pensions asset class lost 6.5% of its value and securities [which includes shares and bonds] also saw a small decline, bank deposits - with a portfolio percentage of almost 50% - continued to grow at a healthy rate of 6.4%," explains the manager, quoted by the newspaper Negócios.

Globally, "the turnaround in interest rates" was also felt in household balance sheet liabilities, with growth "weakening significantly last year to 5.7%".