The booklet A, shunned by savers since the drop in its rate at the start of the year, found colors in May, before a new very likely decline in its return this summer.
The deposits of savers on booklets A exceeded the withdrawals of 1.22 billion euros last month, according to data published Monday by the Caisse des Dépôts (CDC).
Sustainable and solidarity development booklets (LDDS) at the same time inflated by 660 million euros, bringing the total of the “net collection” of these two products to 1.88 billion euros, a record this year.
Does this amount illustrate the awakening of the regulated savings product held by 56 million French people, after a gloomy year?
It could in reality translate the will of savers to benefit from the current rate of 2.4%, before a drop announced this summer.
With the available data and their projections, savings specialists contacted by AFP await a new rate of booklet A, also valid for LDDS, between 1.5% and 1.7%, against 2.4% today.
The two components of the formula for calculating this rate – inflation and an interbank interest rate determined by the European Central Bank (ECB) – are indeed downward oriented.
“With a view to lowering credit rates and recovery of consumption, it is very likely” that the Minister of Economy is putting himself behind the calculation of the formula and does not derogate from it, as he has the possibility of doing on the proposal of the Governor of the Banque de France, estimates the director of the Cercle de l’Epargne Philippe Crevel.
The French savings rate, measured by INSEE at 18.8% in the first quarter, is at its peak in 45 years (excluding health crisis), and presented as a brake on consumption and therefore growth.
Asked about the subject last Thursday by France Info, the new director general of the “cashier” Olivier Sichel stressed that such a rate would remain higher than inflation.
The new rate will be calculated by the Banque de France in mid-July, and transmitted by its governor François Villeroy de Galhau to the Minister of Economy Eric Lombard, also a former CDC director, for application on August 1 until the end of January 2026.
– the Lep Cale –
Booklets A and LDDS, capped respectively at 22,950 euros and 12,000 euros, allow to keep guaranteed savings, available and tax exemption.
They are slowed down this year by a first decrease in their effective remuneration since February 1, from 3% to 2.4%, and suffer from the competition from another savings product also with guaranteed capital: Euros of life insurance.
The popular savings booklets (LEP), reserved for people with modest incomes, experienced a complicated month of May, said the CDC on Monday: their outstanding has been deflated by 1.19 billion euros, after a “net decollect” already visible in April.
Spring is often not very promising for this booklet, under the effect of annual accounts of accounts by banks for holders exceeding the resource ceiling.
Will modest households benefit from a “boost” during the next fixing of the LEP rate, mid-July with that of booklet A?
Mr. Crevel awaits for example a rate at 2.5% on August 1, a priori more interesting than the theoretical rate: that of the booklet increased by 0.5 percentage points.
“It’s very hypothetical,” observes Eric Dor, director of economic studies at the IESEG School of Management.
If the outstanding LEP has dropped the last ego, those of booklets A and LDDS maintain themselves at the end of May at record levels: 445.3 billion euros for the first and 163.3 billion for the latter.
Posted on June 23 at 6:11 p.m., AFP
