Impatiently awaited by tens of millions of savers, the new Livret A rate unveiled on Friday should go from 2% to 3% or even more, a level unprecedented since 2009 but still well below inflation.
This announcement is generally made in two stages: the Governor of the Banque de France proposes a rate, according to a formula taking into account inflation and interbank rates, at which the banks exchange short-term money, then the Minister of Economy and Finance sets it in stone.
All this should happen in quick succession at midday.
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The savings account rate, the most popular investment in France, which was at its lowest level of 0.5% a year ago, doubled for the first time on February 1, 2022 and then again on August 1, to reach 2%.
The new rate announced on Friday will be applicable on February 1.
Inflation, which is still high in France - it reached 5.9% in December according to the latest INSEE figures published on Friday - and the increase in the key rates of the European Central Bank (ECB) suggest that the result of the calculation will be around 3.2% or 3.3%, according to Philippe Crevel, director of the Cercle de l'épargne, interviewed by AFP.
A “
significant
” increase
The Governor of the Banque de France François Villeroy de Galhau has been talking about a “ significant
” increase for several weeks
.
But he insisted on Wednesday to temper the ardor of the most optimistic, stressing before the Senate Finance Committee that his recommendation "
should take into account in its few possibilities of adjustment the good balance between the fair remuneration of popular savings and the preservation of a reasonable cost of financing our economy, including social housing in particular
”.
Good news
The approximately 500 billion euros deposited by the French in the livret A and livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS), most of which is centralized by the Caisse des dépôts (CDC), are intended to finance social housing, l social and solidarity economy or even energy savings in housing.
If the increase in the rate is good news for savers, it is therefore less well received by local authorities and social housing players, whose loans from the CDC are often indexed to this rate.
The rise in the rate is also coldly received by the banking establishments which keep part of the deposits in their coffers.
It could cost for example around 2 billion euros this year to the BPCE group, notably via its savings banks.
Banks "
fear that such an increase in the rate of the booklet A would make it very attractive and would encourage too many savers to turn away from insurance investments,
" says Eric Dor, director of economic studies at the IESEG business school.
Among the returns announced since the beginning of the year by managers of euro life insurance funds, none has so far reached the 3% mark.
Read alsoPassbook A: deposits grew by 600 million euros in November
And the filling margin is large: the more than 55 million booklet A, capped at 22,950 euros, were only filled to a quarter of their capacity at the end of 2021, according to the Banque de France.
The People's Savings Book (LEP) rate, reserved for the most modest households, will also benefit from a very significant increase.
Its formula, modeled on the inflation rate, could exceed 6% for this year, said Tuesday the director general of the Caisse des dépôts Éric Lombard, heard by the finance committee of the National Assembly.
“
I take this opportunity to launch an appeal: there are 7 million people who could have an LEP and who have not opened it
,” he added.
But it is still necessary that the eligible people have the capacity to save.
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