The French have never saved so much. In March, the total amount of French bank deposits reached 19.6 billion euros (€ bn) while the growth of credits abruptly stopped.
"Unheard of since 2007", according to the Banque de France. Usually, "these deposits amount to € 6 billion on average per month since 2017," notes the banking institution. In detail, current sight accounts total € 13.8 billion and remunerated deposit accounts (passbook A, LDDS, etc., excluding life insurance contracts, Sicav, FCP under collective management) 5.8 billion.
But that's not all. The French also played the ants by accumulating a lot of cash in March. No less than € 2 billion, a sum well above the 600 million usually held each month ... If we take into account this liquidity, liquid financial savings, understand the liquidity of the French, climbs to € 21.6 billion.
Savings that are both forced and voluntary
This record savings is obviously linked to the containment launched in mid-March. Forced and forced, the French could no longer consume as they wished, nor take out new credits, their projects being put on forced pause and the banks, they are busy providing credits to professionals harmed by the crisis. According to the Banque de France survey, "retail sales fell 24% from February". And on a voluntary basis this time, many households favored liquidity by withdrawing from certain investments, in particular on the stock market, no doubt judged too risky during this difficult period.
Among these some 20 billion in savings, the Banque de France estimates that around 5 billion come from sales of other savings products (life insurance contracts and investments under collective management: Sicav, FCP). According to figures published on Wednesday by the French Insurance Federation (FFA), withdrawals from life insurance for savers exceeded the level of payments on contracts in March by € 2.2 billion. This is one of the strongest outflows since 2011. Overall, the Banque de France estimates that “the Covid-19 epidemic would have caused an increase of around fifteen billion in March. euros of financial savings ”.
At a time when the French economy is about to experience one of its worst recessions since the post-war period, this liquidity could well cost the banks dearly and at the same time revive the debate on the taxation of bank deposits . Last year, a French bank paved the way by taxing its high income (over a million euros in deposits). And others planned to follow despite the reluctance of the Bank of France. Unless that gives ideas to the government at a time when several economists are pushing for the creation of a Green Booklet or R (for Recovery) in order to co-finance the recovery of the economy.
