The total includes bank deposits, bonds, shares, pension funds, life assurance and other investments. If you add in real estate – the main asset in most people’s portfolios – the total per Belgian rockets up by €84,000, based on a value put on the country’s property in the middle of last year. Since then, property values may have dropped slightly in some sectors.

On the other side of the ledger, debt stands at €178.5bn for the whole country, or €16,682 per person – a record following on a rising trend since 2004. That gives a net financial worth of €58,318 per person. Things are better than they were in December last year, but still not as good as they were in September, just before the banking crisis broke. Then, assets were higher and debt was lower, as follows:

(figures in €bn)   Sep 2008  Jun 2009

Assets                    805.7         802.5

Debt                        169.3        178.5

Net                           636.4        624.0

The main causes of debt are mortgages, totalling €138bn, followed by consumer credit and tax arrears. Interestingly, out of all the financial and investment products in which Belgians place their money, insurance comes first, followed by savings accounts. Current accounts take up only just under €40bn, and that’s only twice as much as the oldest product of all – good old banknotes and coins. At the end of June, the socks under Belgium’s mattresses contained no less than €20bn.