- The highest figure on record
- Share ownership by banks and saving banks at a record low, households increase their holdings
Foreign ownership of shares listed on the Spanish stock exchange continues increasing and now accounts for 40% of the value of Spanish listed shares, according to the latest report on share ownership structure in Spain recently released by BME’S Research Department with data as of 31 December 2009. This figure, which is 7.5 basis points higher than that at year-end 2006, is the highest on record. Since this data started being collected in 1992, share ownership by non-resident investors has never dropped below 30%, as a result of the ambitious two-decade process of integration of the Spanish economy into the international arena and evidence of non-resident investors’ trust in the Spanish equity markets.
The lower participation by the Spanish banking sector in Spanish listed shares – driven by net divestments oriented to their intensifying search for liquidity and the estimated increase in their financing needs - has allowed non-resident investors to increase their holdings of Spanish shares.
The overall value of holdings of Spanish listed shares by the financial sector, which comprises banks, saving banks, investment funds, pension funds and insurance companies, still represents less than 13%, that is, 5 basis points below that at year-end 2007 and 10 below its record high in 1997. Banks and Saving Banks underwent the most significant reduction in terms of their relative participation, down 4 basis points between 2008 and 2009 from 9.4% at year-end 2007.
Also of note is the performance of the household investor segment, which in 2009 increased by almost 1% from the previous year, to 21.1%. Following the dramatic decrease in participation levels by retail investors during the crisis, 2009 marked an inflection point and today households are channelling more and more of their financial savings towards assets other than bank deposits, in this case towards direct investment in equities.
For further information please consult:
http://www.bolsasymercados.es/esp/publicacion/revistaOnLine/index.htm
