This year 2020 is definitely an exceptional period for savings. This Tuesday, the Caisse des Dépôts has just published the latest figures for withdrawals and deposits in the Livret A and the LDDS (Sustainable and Solidarity Development Booklet). After the first good months, the sums deposited on these various products continued to explode in May, with 5.14 billion euros collected in total. The increase compared to a more traditional year is notable: last year, in the same month, only 1.61 billion euros had been deposited on these two products.
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Evolution of net inflows per month (in billions of euros) Caisse des Dépôts, Le Figaro
By way of comparison, last March and April had been particularly successful for deposits, with net inflows of 3.82 and 7.39 billion euros respectively. Amounts already up sharply compared to the same periods a year earlier, when households had deposited 2.52 then 2.48 billion euros only.
Over the first five months of 2020, deposits were particularly massive, exceeding 22.4 billion euros on these two books. The Livret A, in particular, was particularly popular, with 17.4 billion euros deposited in five months, against 11.06 billion euros over the same period a year earlier. The same goes for LDDS, which has raised nearly 5 billion euros since January compared to 2.67 billion euros over the same period in 2019.
Evolution of cumulative deposits from the Le Figaro A and LDDS passbooks, Caisse des Dépôts
An ever increasing collection
Containment requires, the French have massively set aside in recent weeks. To the point of worrying the executive, who sees it as a risk for consumption, growth and the revival of activity. Excessively cautious spending could indeed weaken the recovery, while the French economy is highly dependent on household purchases. "It is not savings that we need today for our economy, but investment, " said Bruno Le Maire, in mid-April, at the National Assembly. It must be said that the minister advised the French to diversify their investments, even before the crisis, citing the example of stock savings plans or life insurance.
" The savings side prevailed over the recovery in consumption ", comments the economist and director of the Savings Circle Philippe Crevel. " The deflation of the booklet A and the pool created has not yet started, on the contrary: households have increased their precautionary savings ". A continuation of the process started in March and which is " logical, given the context and the uncertainties ", believes the expert.
Collection of the Livret A remains particularly dynamic: after having reached an almost historic record in April, with nearly 5.5 billion euros - the strongest collection having been carried out in January 2013, with 8.21 billion euros, at the time of the increase of the ceiling of the booklet -, it approached in May the 4 billion euros. Several factors can explain this craze: " at each crisis, we observe an increase in deposits, households put aside because liquid savings guaranteed by the State is a safe haven ", explains Philippe Crevel. In addition, the closure of bank branches and the fact that confinement occurs during a normal period for the collection of passbooks could also have played a role.
In the long term, the government therefore has “ work to do to encourage households to redirect their savings or to draw on their woolen socks ,” analyzes the expert. It will indeed reassure the French, who, for a few years, have already been saving more and more, marked by successive crises like the " yellow vests " or the conflict around the pension reform. " Everything was contributing to massive savings these days ," added the economist, stressing " the wait-and-see attitude of households ", worried about the future. Scalded cat fears cold water.