Households' Needs for Financial Services In a low interest rate environment, households also tend to become more active in searching for higher yields on assets, and their engagement in risk taking may affect the financial system in multifaceted ways through diversified financial services.
Compared with other countries, households in Japan have a strong tendency to favor safe assets, and even in a prolonged low interest rate environment, a large proportion of household financial assets continue to be deposits. In Japan, however, the elderly hold more stocks than younger people.4 Also, some people seem to begin investing in stocks after retirement.