Depositing your money in a bank book has become more and more interesting. Several offers stand out and allow savers to limit the effects of inflation.
The rise is striking. This summer, between the months of July and August, the average remuneration of bank books has almost doubled, according to figures published Tuesday, October 4 by the Bank of France. She passed from 0.09% 0.17% gross. It’s still not the Prou, but the evolution is clear. And it owes nothing to chance.
The banks are raising the remuneration of bank books following the rise in monetary rates driven by the recent decisions of the European Central Bank to raise its key rates. But also because of the increase in the remuneration of the Livret A which is now 2%. The latter, which is ultimately the main key rate for the savings market in France, explains Cyril Blesson, partner at the firm Pair Conseil and publisher of the savings notebooks.
Unlike regulated savings accounts such as the Livret A, the Livret de développement durable et solidaire, or the Livret d’epargne populaire, each establishment is free to offer the remuneration of its choice. To attract customers, some display particularly attractive rates the opening.
Call rates up to 3.5%
This is the case of HSBC which is currently displaying a boost rate of 3.5% on new payments made by November 30, up to a limit of 100,000 euros deposited. Beyond that, the remuneration drops 0.10%. The Cashbee booklet also offers a 3% return for 4 months, but within the limit of 75,000 euros paid out. Afterwards, it is the usual rate of 0.8% who takes over.
Another example with Distingo booklet of PSA Banque, the banking subsidiary of the Peugeot SA group which, like Cashbee, is always one of the most interesting savings accounts on the market. Indeed, PSA Banque uses its resources to lend money to individuals who wish to buy a vehicle. In this context, it has every interest in better remunerating its savings account in order to attract deposits from individuals. Currently, the Distingo booklet has a bonus rate of 3% for 3 monthson the first 75,000 euros paid with the possibility of also obtaining a bonus of 40 euros. Beyond that, again, the basic rate of 0.70% applies and even 1% from October 16.
Even the big banks are raising their rates
By offering our customers some of the highest rates on the market, our products have always stood out for their performance. Regularly, our “great booklet” is boosted thanks to promotional offers, such as the one currently valid until the end of October 2022. We reinvest this savings in the real, French economy, without stock market speculation, by financing the purchase of vehicles from the Stellantis Group brands (who owns PSA, Editor’s note), underlines Sarah Zamoun, head of Distingo.
But the big banks are gradually raising the remuneration of their passbooks. They must remain competitive to prevent their customers from placing their cash elsewhere. Banks must in fact preserve their regulatory ratios by having sufficient resources on the balance sheet. And therefore keep a substantial stock of savings from their customers on the balance sheet in order to then be able to make loans, analyzes Cyril Blesson.
According to the statement made by MoneyVox, the remuneration of the Banque Populaire Rives de Paris passbook account a for example t multiplied by 10 from 0.10% 1.05% since September 1. Same for the Credit Agricole: his passbook account was raised by 0.05% 0.5% on August 1st. Special mention for the account on the Sociétaire passbook whose remuneration depends on each of the funds. She reached 1.25% for example for the Credit Agricole Center France.
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If the remunerations of the bank books are on the rise, they nevertheless remain well below the 2% net currently offered by the Livret A. Especially since the posted rate is gross. These booklets are taxed and the flat tax of 30% must therefore be deducted. In this context, what is the point of depositing money there?
Who was interested in opening a bank book?
Our savings account does not compete with regulated bank accounts. Our customers generally subscribe to it when the ceiling of their livret A is reached. The latter is limited to 22,950 euros for individuals where that of the Livret Distingo is almost unlimited (maximum 10000000 euros), says Sarah Zamoun. Once the regulated savings accounts have been filled out, bank accounts are therefore an interesting solution for placing your cash there rather than leaving it in your non-remunerated current account.
With the rise in the rates of return on passbooks, it is to be expected that the latter will always attract a lot of cash.
However, today, deposits seen by individuals have reached 550 billion euros, a record. On average, each household owns more than 18400 euros on his current account. This is much more than the 3 to 4 months of precautionary income to keep in the event of a hard blow. And a very bad deal when inflation is expected to reach 5.2% on the year 2022.
With the rise in rates of return on passbooks, it is to be expected that the latter will always attract a lot of cash, even if the passbooks A and the LDDS will drain huge masses. All the more so in a context where the stock markets are heckled and which could turn away some savers who prefer to play the security card, believes Cyril Blesson.
According to the latest figures from the Banque de France, the outstanding amount of bank books reached 280 billion euros the end of August, i.e. 15 billion euros more than in January. By way of comparison, at the end of August, individuals deposited 497 billion euros on their Livret A and LDDS booklets.
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