Bad news for the 57 million holders of a Livret A. The governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau, proposed this Wednesday, January 15 to the Minister of the Economy, Eric Lombard, to lower the rate of the Livret A , from 3% to 2.4%. This rate would be applicable on February 1. The governor was waiting to deliver his proposal to know the final figure for inflation in 2024, announced this morning by INSEE at +2% on average compared to the previous year. “We are now out of exceptional circumstances and winning our fight against inflation,” justifies the Bank of France in a press release.
The final decision should be announced this Wednesday, January 15. She can always have surprises in store. The calculation formula is far from being systematically applied and has been subject to frequent exceptions in recent years. However, Eric Lombard should not move very far from the proposal of the governor of the Bank of France. He mentioned, on France Inter, on January 6, a new rate “around 2.5%”.
The biggest drop since 2013
For two years, the rate had been left unchanged, set at 3%. This reduction, if confirmed by the minister, would be the first since the beginning of 2020. We have to go back to the summer of 2013 to find a reduction of this magnitude, of half a percentage point. Even with a less profitable Livret A, “savings are not only protected, but they allow real wealth to increase”, justified Eric Lombard last week.
This change will allow, argues the Banque de France, “to amplify the very positive movement to revive the financing of social housing and local authorities observed for more than a year”. It indeed offers a breath of fresh air to those who pay it: the banking establishments and the Caisse des Dépôts (CDC), which Eric Lombard headed until the end of December. The consequence of a rate cut “is very important to us”, the acting director general of the CDC, Olivier Sichel, stressed on Wednesday January 8 on BFM Business: “This will allow us to lower the borrowing rate of social landlords.” This decision will also be viewed favorably by insurers who offer a competing savings product: life insurance.
The Livret A rate also applies to the 26 million sustainable and solidarity development booklets (LDDS) and is theoretically revised twice a year. Livret A and LDDS grew by 17.5 billion euros between January and November 2024, reaching an outstanding amount of 582.3 billion euros, according to the latest data from the CDC. For the 11.8 million popular savings accounts reserved for the most modest households, the Banque de France is proposing to deviate from the calculation formula and increase the rate previously set at 4% to 3.5% instead. of the theoretical 2.9%. It would be “just and justified”, considers the institution.
