The director general of the Caisse des dépôts, Éric Lombard, pleaded again on Saturday for the stability of the rate of remuneration of the Livret A, fixed for the moment at 3%, a few days before a decision eagerly awaited by savers.
Between the various savings products, “there is a question of hierarchy of returns to which we are attentive and which would be distorted if the rate of the Livret A continues to rise”, assured Éric Lombard in an interview with AFP during the Economic Meetings of Aix-en-Provence. “It would not be logical for the Livret A rate, which is liquid, guaranteed and tax-free, to be the highest” among savings products, some of which are much riskier, and therefore traditionally better paid.
The Caisse des dépôts manages 60% of the amounts deposited by the French on their Livret A or their Livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS), which it reinvests in particular in loans intended for the construction of social housing. For several months, the French have favored these regulated savings books, whose rate of return has become much more attractive as a result of high inflation. The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire must announce in the very next few days the rate of remuneration of the Livret A which will apply from August 1, after having received a rate proposal from the Governor of the Banque de France.
According to the calculation formula taking into account on the one hand the rise in prices and on the other hand the interbank rates, it could be 4% or 4.1%, according to the director of the Cercle de l’épargne Philippe Crevel, requested by AFP. But “we plead for the stability of the Livret A rate”, reaffirmed Eric Lombard on Saturday. The impact of a rise in the pay rate, which is a borrowing rate for social housing actors, is “massive”, he warned. “They borrow 170 billion euros from us, so a 1% increase costs 1.7 billion for social housing at a time when it is necessary to build”, detailed the director general of the Caisse des dépôts.