The remuneration of the LEP which should decrease significantly, incredible bank charges, our investigation into consumer credit insurance, a tax levy Find the 5 news of the week.
The figure of the week: A LEP rate of 4.4% in February?
Midweek, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) announced the figures for October’s price rise. Price inflation rose to 4%, compared to 4.9% the previous two months in September and August. So of course, this is undoubtedly good news for the purchasing power of households.
The other side of the coin is that the rate of the Popular Savings Booklet (LEP) risks being strongly impacted by this slowdown in price increases. Indeed, the remuneration of this Livret, currently set at 6%, is directly correlated to inflation. Result, in view of INSEE’s forecasts for inflation between now and the end of the year, the technical rate of the LEP on February 1, the date of its next revision, should fall by 1.6 points 4.4 %. Explanations.
The investigation of the week: the underside of consumer credit insurance
When we talk about borrower insurance, we often think about real estate credit. But consumer loans are also affected. Insuring a personal loan or a revolving credit may be optional, but more than one borrower in two is covered against risks (death, disability, long-term illness, unemployment), which increases the cost of credit by 30 to 50%!
For credit institutions and their insurance partners, this is a very, very good deal. The market represents nearly 2.8 billion euros in premiums per year. Above all, only 20% of this sum is actually used to compensate insurers, an abnormally low ratio. The remaining 80%? They remain in the hands of banks and insurers. Enough to attract the attention of financial sector regulators. The Moneyvox survey can be found in these 3 articles:
The lucrative business of consumer credit insurance which is very expensive for consumers
How banks put pressure on you to take out consumer credit insurance
Exclusions, waiting periods… Is it in your interest to take out insurance for a consumer loan?
Tax news of the week: a new property tax levy
If the prices of food products are soaring, this is also the case for the property tax, the evolution of which is partly indexed to inflation. As a result, the property tax has increased in almost all municipalities this year, with rare exceptions.
For the 7 million households who opted for the monthly payment of the property tax, an additional tax levy was made. And another may be waiting for you in December. Here’s why.
The red card of the week: 5 scandalous bank charges
Estate processing costs, costs linked to holding a real estate loan, joint account separation costs, document search costs or even costs linked to payment incidents. Here are the 5 tariff lines whose prices seem to be detached from their real cost for the bank. Here is the proof.
The question of the week: Is the interest on Livret A taxable?
The editorial team received a question from Zack who wonders about the possible taxation of Livret A interest when the payment ceiling is reached. Read our response here.