The gross financial assets of households in Germany grew to EUR 4.64 trillion in 2009, according to estimates by Allianz Global Investors. This places gross financial assets at the end of 2009 at 4.4% higher than in 2008, when they had dropped to EUR 4.45 trillion. German citizens counteracted this decline by saving persistently – the savings rate remained at the high level of 11.2%. On the other hand the rapid reversal on the stock markets helped to offset some of the valuation losses incurred in the previous year. A good 60% of the increase in financial assets, just under EUR 200 billion in 2009, was added as new investment capital, while almost 40% was attributable to valuation gains.