The surplus savings accumulated by households in France during the health crisis continued to grow in 2021 and in the first quarter of 2022, the Banque de France reported on Tuesday.
This additional savings, seen by economists and the government as a key driver of post-pandemic economic recovery, has therefore not yet been used.
Total household savings amounted to 319 billion euros in the first quarter of 2022, of which 151 billion are due to the surplus, according to the central bank which calculated that if savings had continued to grow at the same rate as before the pandemic, it would have been only 168 billion.
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However, the accumulation of new savings slowed considerably compared to 2020 and the first half of 2021, while remaining slightly above its 2019 level. Thus the increase in surplus savings was only 7 billion euros in the second half of 2021 and two billion in the first quarter of 2022.
Corporate net debt on the rise
On the business side, net debt, i.e. the difference between gross debt and cash flow, increased by 11.7 billion euros in the first quarter of 2022. This increase is less marked than in the fourth. quarter of 2021 (31 billion), notes the Banque de France.
At the end of April, the net debt outstanding of non-financial corporations stood at 1.059 billion euros, up 2.9% compared to the end of December 2021, according to its quarterly report on the financial situation of companies. and households.
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Gross corporate debt increased by 7.7 billion euros in the first quarter of 2022, which is explained by the increase in bank loans, including mainly that of borrowings taken out to invest, while indebtedness by debt securities ( bonds) decreases.
