Euro zone: What happens when savings return nothing?

Savers in the euro zone are now faced with: A considerable decline in the interest they receive due to the very low level of interest rates; Declining share prices and widening credit spreads. Returns on financial savings are therefore zero or even negative. How might savers react? By saving less (in financial savings), because returns on financial savings are zero, to sustain consumption despite the fall in financial income; By saving more, to stabilise future income from savings despite the fall in the return on savings; By saving in real estate assets, due to the decline in returns on financial savings. In the euro zone, financial savings are declining and housing purchases are rising in both volume and value terms.