chart of the week
In just one month, the Livret A has already collected a third of what it had garnered during the entire year of 2022 – yet already an exceptional year for this non-taxed savings account…
No less than 9.27 billion euros indeed came to inflate its outstanding amount in January 2023 (this is net inflows, deposits less withdrawals). Total amount now placed on these booklets, held by 56 million people: 384.7 billion euros, according to figures published on February 21 by the Caisse des dépôts.
It is « his best performance since January 2009”notes Philippe Crevel, founder of the Cercle de l’épargne, who recalls that, in January 2009, 18.31 billion had been collected, in the very specific context of the ” trivialization of its distribution” (the possibility of marketing the Livret A for all banks came into force on 1is January 2009) and “in the midst of a financial crisis”.
If we add to these figures those of the Sustainable and Solidarity Development Booklet (LDDS), held by some 25 million people, and which functions globally like the Livret A, the net collection for this first month of year reached 11.22 billion euros.
The announcement of the increase in the rate of remuneration of these two booklets from 2% to 3%, made on January 13 by the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, therefore did not go unnoticed by savers! This increase came into effect on 1is FEBRUARY.
“Any increase announcement causes an increase in collection which lasts between two and three months. The January 2023 rebound stands out for its strength. Households have decided, without a doubt, to take full advantage of the recovery by reducing their non-remunerated liquidity in their current accounts.explains Mr. Crevel in a press release.
Inflation, pension debate
A way for households, in his eyes, to ” limit the effects of inflation on their liquidity”even if the rise in the Livret A rate (it has been multiplied by six since January 2022) does not fully protect them from the rise in prices, “ the real yield of the Livret A being negative by at least three points”. It should be remembered that, since 2020 and the application of a new formula for calculating the rate, the Livret A is no longer intended to compensate for inflation, this role now being reserved for the Livret d’épargne populaire (LEP), another Tax-free booklet, but accessible subject to income. The latter saw its rate drop from 4.6% to 6.1% on 1is February 2023.
“Faced with the rise in prices and the erosion of their purchasing power, households are not drawing on their woolen stockings, on the contrary, they are strengthening it. The debates on pensions and the threats of blocking the country are traditionally accompanied by a rise in savings “underlines Philippe Crevel.
In 2022, the collection of the Livret A account amounted to 27.23 billion euros, even more than in 2020, the year of the start of the health crisis, yet marked by a significant boom in precautionary savings , linked to economic and health uncertainties and restrictions on consumption possibilities.
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A manna closely scrutinized by the government, which, according to The echoesis considering using some of these savings to finance the construction of new nuclear reactors.
