Start ups are well aware of this, but our scale-ups, midcaps and SMEs also need greater access to equity leverage. In this field, our economy, like that of our neighbours in the euro area, is seriously lagging behind: in France, equity only accounted for 64% of GDP at end-2016, which is half as much as in the United States (128%). It is true that French and European savers are very attached to safe investments. The bulk (69%) of the EUR 4,765 billion in financial wealth held by French households is invested in interest rate products, compared to only 31% in equity products, i.e. invested in corporate capital in the form of listed or unlisted shares.1 However, it is important to distinguish, with respect to savers’ expectations concerning security, two components: they are attached to the protection of capital, even more so than to liquidity. With the increase in life expectancy, and with a greater need to prepare their retirement, savers are increasingly being steered towards long-term products; the liquidity component is becoming less decisive. Here, insurers have an essential role to play, by taking the lead on new forms of life insurance that aim for a three-fold compatibility: with low interest rates, our economy’s need for equity financing and the expectations of the French people. This requires new long-term savings products that are less liquid but feature a form of capital protection and offer over time the higher equity-type returns. Let me make myself absolutely clear: the development of unit-linked policies is not a sufficient response.
The role of insurers in the digitalisation of our economy It is essential for our economy to adapt to the digital revolution: it creates incredible opportunities, but with them, new risks against which the insurance sector, once again, can bring stability and protection. I would like to discuss two subjects in particular: Firstly, cyber-insurance. The cyber-insurance market is still underdeveloped. Insurers can and should take inspiration from their own experiences in tackling cyber-risk, and use it to develop a more mature French and European cyber-insurance offering. The coverage against cyber-risk is a very real concern that affects all companies – both small and large – as cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly frequent and costly: according to figures from Euler-Hermès, 57% of French companies were victims of these attacks in 2016, compared with 32% in 2015. We at the Banque de France, alongside the Eurosystem and our G7 colleagues, have made cybersecurity one of our strategic priorities. And secondly, personal data and big data. Naturally, the spread of connected objects that is triggering an exponential rise in the amount of data available on insurance policyholders represents an opportunity for the business of insurance, which consists precisely in collecting and exploiting data in order to quantify and put a price on risk. Nonetheless, I would urge insurers to take a responsible approach: we need to strike the right balance between segmentation and the sharing of risk between policyholders. The basic principles of solidarity and risk-pooling that are intrinsic to insurance are at stake.