Deposits exceeded withdrawals by 2.94 billion euros, beating the previous record for the second month of the year, reached in 2021, with an inflow of 2.86 billion euros amid caution in the face of health restrictions.

Traditionally, the month of February is quieter than January, the month during which the French start saving again after the holidays.

This year is no exception to the rule, since the fundraising remains half the amount of the previous month.

The outstanding amount of the Livret A is thus increased to 352.5 billion euros.

At the start of the year, the Livret A book benefits from the doubling of its interest rate, announced in mid-January and effective since February 1st.

After more than ten years without an increase and two years of historic lows at 0.5%, the Livret A rate was raised to 1%, like that of the Livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS).

The director of the Cercle de l'Épargne Philippe Crevel also attributes the success of the Livret A to a desire for caution on the part of the French in the face of the war in Ukraine, the resurgence of Covid-19 and inflation.

"Households fearful of not being able to meet expenses tomorrow are putting money aside today. If inflation persists, they could draw on their kitty later," he said in a press release. .

He nevertheless notes that with inflation approaching 4%, "the real rate of the Livret A is negative by almost 3 points".

"You have to go back to the early 1980s to find such a gap between inflation and the yield of Livret A," he continues.

Unlike the Livret A, the LDDS has not really benefited from the increase in its rate: its collection has remained almost stable since December, at 540 million euros per month.

In total, the surplus of Livret A and LDDS deposits totaled 3.48 billion euros over the month, representing a total outstanding amount for the two products of 479.9 billion euros at the end of February.

Managed jointly by the Caisse des dépôts and the banking networks, the Livret A is mainly used to finance social housing, while the LDDS is dedicated to the social and solidarity economy as well as to energy savings in housing.

They are often considered safe haven investments.

Last year, the French deposited 15.17 billion euros more than they withdrew on their Livret A, and 3.94 billion euros on their LDDS.

© 2022 AFP