Livret A: more than 9 billion euros saved in January, the highest amount since 2009

Europe 1 with AFP 3:24 p.m., February 21, 2023

Savers deposited in Livret A savings accounts in January 9.27 billion euros more than they withdrew, the Caisse des dépôts (CDC) said on Tuesday, the highest amount for 14 years for a first month of the year, stimulated by the announcement of a 3% rate.

The cumulative outstandings of the Livret A, preferred investment of the French - 55 million individuals hold one -, and the Livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS) reached the tidy sum of 520.9 billion euros on 31 January, never seen.

The LDDS alone swelled by 1.95 billion euros net last month.

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Traditionally associated with New Year's gifts, bonus payments and a time of lower spending contrasting with the month of December, the first month of the year is generally favorable for collection for regulated savings accounts.

It was all the more so after the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, announced in mid-January an increase in the rate of remuneration for these two booklets, from 2% to 3%, effective since the 1st FEBRUARY.

A good reason to move some of the some 700 billion euros sleeping in current accounts in France, according to the latest figures from the Banque de France published on Tuesday and closed at the end of September.

The competition is struggling to keep up: among the returns announced since the beginning of the year by managers of euro funds in life insurance, none has reached the 3% mark.

The money deposited in Livret A and LDDS booklets, capped at 22,950 euros and 12,000 euros respectively excluding capitalized interest, is guaranteed by the State, exempt from taxes and social security contributions.

Managed jointly by the Caisse des dépôts and the banking networks, the Livret A is mainly used to finance social housing.