The balance sheet assets of the financial corporations sector (Table 2.3 and 2.4) grew by 18.6% compared to 2020. This continued the trend of balance sheet expansion. The growth from 2014 to 2021 was driven primarily by activity in the non-Money Market Funds (S.124) sector. The financial assets of sector S.12 increased by €1228.2bn in 2021, while its liabilities grew from €6,576.1bn to €7,816.1bn during the same period.The Financial Sector in Ireland's National Accounts publication explores the financial subsectors in greater detail. The evolution of the financial assets of S.12 from 2011 to 2021 is shown in Figure 4.1.
| Monetary Financial Institutions (S.121+S.122+S.123) | Non-Money Market Investment Funds (S.124) | Other Financial Intermediaries (S.125+S.126+S.127) | Insurance Corporations & Pension Funds (S.128+S.129) | |
| 2011 | 1.4141357 | 0.818647995 | 1.11184314890945 | 0.284114227494 |
| 2012 | 1.249718 | 1.01796992005701 | 1.00476597388349 | 0.321514348790292 |
| 2013 | 1.104995 | 1.18033169949584 | 1.05929261446245 | 0.336971973454292 |
| 2014 | 1.14427216210107 | 1.62907492597799 | 1.15150312309081 | 0.382878571878189 |
| 2015 | 1.16154269668559 | 1.77950764704773 | 1.4039761844751 | 0.410701198712995 |
| 2016 | 1.14114935131288 | 1.91997399913081 | 1.38596903410168 | 0.433233430783 |
| 2017 | 1.11321697916037 | 2.21743217802572 | 1.26803750572613 | 0.450508919793 |
| 2018 | 1.17299065845707 | 2.31343660265903 | 1.3750799259515 | 0.445394341604724 |
| 2019 | 1.34323313250141 | 2.91446457940552 | 1.37351859793907 | 0.510554569098 |
| 2020 | 1.49219797069634 | 3.16415124468416 | 1.39296432471595 | 0.541042309348 |
| 2021 | 1.60090759640877 | 3.88946510086837 | 1.72486246653313 | 0.603349311741 |
The balance sheet of the Monetary Financial Institutions sector (S.121+S.122+S.123) contracted during the period 2009-2013, where its assets fell by €759.5bn and its liabilities by €764.8bn. This trend was reversed in 2014, as financial assets and liabilities grew over their 2013 values. In 2021 the balance sheet continued to grow: the assets increased by 7.3% and the liabilities by 6.7% over the 2020 values.
The balance sheet of the non-Money Market Investment Funds sector (S.124) continued to grow during 2021. Figure 4.1 shows the change in contribution by S.124 to the overall size of the financial sector balance sheet. Aside from a drop in balance sheet size during 2008, relating to the financial crisis, the sector has exhibited continuous growth in the intervening period, where its financial assets have grown cumulatively by €3,547.5bn – an increase of 1037.2%. This growth in the value of total assets has been significantly influenced by holding gains across a range of asset classes during this period.
The year-on-year percentage change in total liabilities of the financial sector is illustrated in Figure 4.2. The corresponding MIP Scoreboard threshold of 16.5% for this indicator is also shown in the same figure. The year-on-year change of 18.9% in 2021 is the first above the 16.5% MIP threshold since 2014 (19.6%).
| y-o-y Growth Rate | MIP Threshold | |
| 2011 | -2.22208281958217 | 16.5 |
| 2012 | -1.0961100990106 | 16.5 |
| 2013 | 2.08315963706709 | 16.5 |
| 2014 | 19.5941894254137 | 16.5 |
| 2015 | 9.50982852552837 | 16.5 |
| 2016 | 1.48162211355596 | 16.5 |
| 2017 | 4.23265866988416 | 16.5 |
| 2018 | 5.17756619657088 | 16.5 |
| 2019 | 15.4007290158054 | 16.5 |
| 2020 | 7.37829897249801 | 16.5 |
| 2021 | 18.8561310330866 | 16.5 |
The trends evidenced in Figure 4.2 are also present in the sector breakdown of Figure 4.3. The years leading up to 2009 saw growth largely dominated by the expansion of the balance sheet of the banking sector related to the housing boom. In the ensuing period of 2009-2013 there has been a deleveraging effect in the banking sector which has been offset by significant expansion of the investment funds sector. The marked reverse in trend during the period 2014-2021 has been caused by simultaneous growth in both the investment funds and financial intermediaries sectors. In 2021, this increase was influenced by positive growth rates across all financial sub-sectors.
| Monetary Financial Institutions (S.121+S.122+S.123) | Non-Money Market Investment Funds (S.124) | Other Financial Intermediaries (S.125+S.126+S.127) | Insurance Corporations & Pension Funds (S.128+S.129) | |
| 2011 | 1.41821821124687 | 0.818722415 | 1.0814078884462 | 0.289099949001 |
| 2012 | 1.230661025653 | 1.01834989411588 | 0.990373302823734 | 0.328522634174292 |
| 2013 | 1.1049632 | 1.18081216114133 | 1.01708249135061 | 0.339374199803292 |
| 2014 | 1.15757050487623 | 1.6343808516908 | 1.17757673312287 | 0.386369810245189 |
| 2015 | 1.12580289545066 | 1.79982907857145 | 1.42950605999989 | 0.414998286943995 |
| 2016 | 1.15550462651877 | 1.91911864095906 | 1.32870362567437 | 0.437484822392 |
| 2017 | 1.15524535864401 | 2.19803572375898 | 1.23811867366696 | 0.454306996245 |
| 2018 | 1.21031174493927 | 2.30043733583274 | 1.34655722090717 | 0.449645257821724 |
| 2019 | 1.37045380257385 | 2.88215665576185 | 1.35567720569 | 0.515973124154 |
| 2020 | 1.53297542369653 | 3.14492348496553 | 1.353288238744 | 0.544939911581 |
| 2021 | 1.63615573608924 | 3.83617729044758 | 1.7377030417191 | 0.606094125876 |
This year's publication also includes data in the current and capital non-financial accounts for subsectors of the financial corporations. There are three groups of subsectors: monetary financial institutions (S.121+S.122+S.123), financial intermediaries and funds (S.124+S.125+S.126+S.127), and insurance corporations and pension funds (S.128+S.129).
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