Savings boost 3.40% over time, tempting you? In recent weeks, this message has gradually flourished in all the regional banks of Crdit Agricole. What is this miracle product, advertised with the advantages of PEL? The Carr Bleu. A former bestseller that is back in the spotlight. The other big banks could follow with their Quadreto or Capital Expansion. Here are 7 questions about these intriguing financial arrangements.
Freelance question: 3.40%, is it better than 3%? Yes and no… Wait MoneyVox, you don’t know how to count anymore or what? Yes! But let’s ask the question in full: the 3.40% announced by Crdit Agricole for Carr Bleu that the green bank resurrects from beyond the grave, is it better than the 3% of Livret A? The answer is no, short term, in 2024. But because the 3% of Livret A is net of any tax, while the 3.40% of Carr Bleu is gross, which gives 2.38% net after flat tax of 30%. But the answer will not necessarily be no in 2025, because Livret A has a good chance of seeing its yield diminish from February 2025. And Carr Bleu promises you this 3.40% for 4 years.
So, a profitable bet? Here is everything you need to know about these investments called Carr Bleu or Vert, Quadreto, Capital Plus or other Capital Expansion, these products from another time which are flourishing again in your bank branches now that the rates have finished flying at the level of the daisies.
1 – Carr Bleu, Quatreto or Capital Expansion: how does it work?
You bet several thousand euros, all at onceand the bank promises you a given return on 4, 6, 8 or 10 years. You no longer do anything during this time.
The bank must work. Since your initial investment is distributed on the one hand over a housing savings plan (PEL), currently paying 2.25% gross, and on all a series of term accounts (CAT). These CATs are scheduled for a few months, or 1, 2, 3 or 4 years: the money generated on each CAT is invested in the PEL when the term account is closed.
In short: this assembly allows you to respect the regulatory constraints of the PEL without having to power it yourself regularly. And it allows you to benefit from today’s very high returns on term accounts.
Carr Bleu. Crdit Agricole is undertaking a frank and massive relaunch of this product, in all its funds, with a single gross remuneration rate of 3.40% if you keep it for 4 years, from 6,000 euros of payment. The placement will even be the subject of a television advertisement.
Quadreto. This former flagship product of the Caisse d’Epargne is not the subject of national communication. Its marketing has never stopped and the remuneration rate is freely set by each regional Savings Bank, responds the BPCE group. The Bretagne Pays de Loire fund, however, is putting forward a plan called Quadreto 4 years breizh&loire showing 3.30% for 4 years, paying a minimum of 10,000 euros.
Capital Expansion and Capital Plus. At CIC or Crédit Mutuel (federations of the Federal Alliance), the best possible return is 3% gross over 8 years (1) by betting a minimum of 4600 euros.
2 – Is it risky?
No. At least no more than any bank investment with capital guarantee. These arrangements do not expose you to a risk of financial loss, unlike an investment in the stock market for example.
3 – Is it blocked?
Yes and no. These arrangements combine the specificities of term accounts and home savings plans. SO any early withdrawal breaks the assembly and your PEL, not to mention the possible application of the penalties provided for in the contract and the closure of the CAT, to cite the conditions detailed by the CIC. In short: you can always break this arrangement before the 4 years, in the event of an urgent need for liquidity, but you then risk not earning as much interest as expected.
4 – Is it profitable?
To see… Some term accounts do better (up to 3.75% over 3 years at Ramify currently, 3.50% over 1 year at Distingo) or almost as well but over shorter periods. Remember that the Livret A currently earns you 3% without any tax or that the popular savings booklet (LEP) displays 5% net of tax for the 50% of tax households (half of the population with little or no tax) who have access to it.
Warning: if you keep, for example, a Carr Bleu advertising 3.40% gross for more than 4 years, then the return will be lower during the 5th, 6th or 7th years. But the yield will not fall below 2.25% of the PEL.
In short: an interesting option for those who don’t like financial risk and who can lock in savings for at least 4 years. Not necessarily the most profitable option, but a potentially very interesting bet in the medium term.
Invest in real estate from €1,000. OUR rankings of the best SCPIs
5 – Why are these old investments reappearing now?
A product being discontinued, here is how MoneyVox describes these products combining PEL and term accounts on the page describing their operation. Indeed, following the long drop in rates, in the heart of the 2010s, and since the PEL no longer benefits from any tax advantage upon opening (2018), everything leads to the small death of these squares.
Where does their resurrection come from? The rise in interest rates and the return of hype for term accounts have changed the situation. Locking in a high yield, certainly gross, more than 3%, is a bet that could pay off in 2 or 3 years, if interest rates do not skyrocket again.
6 – Opening a PEL this way, is it useful?
Even if it means opening a PEL, these formulas are actually more profitable than a simple PEL, from a strict financial point of view. It all depends on whether you have enough precautionary savings to block several thousand euros in this way, otherwise the classic principle of the PEL is that of progressive savings, with payments of at least 45 euros each month.
Once all your term accounts have been drawn up and invested in the PEL of this package, therefore after 4, 6 or 8 years depending on the option chosen, your Carr, Capital Expansion or Quadreto will only earn you the PEL rate , 2.25% gross. But this will give you access, in the long term, to a potential home savings loan, at a rate of 3.45%. A bet on the future, since it is at this stage impossible to know whether a credit rate of 3.45% will be attractive by 2030…
PEL 2.25%: opening or reopening a home savings plan, is it really worth it?
7 – did it work well before, when the banks sold them like hotcakes?
These Carr Bleu or Quadreto type arrangements were so well sold by banks at the start of the 2010s that the MoneyVox editorial team received a host of questions from readers on the PELs resulting from these arrangements. In question? These arrangements confuse customers, who no longer really know when their PEL was opened, or when they made regular payments…
What can we learn from these past difficulties? Understand what you are investing in. And above all keep your archives: contract, payment history letter, etc. This will be useful if you one day want to benefit from the advantages of the PEL.
Term account: comparison of the best 2024 offers
(1) The returns quoted for these different investments, partly composed of term accounts, are actuarial rates. An actuarial rate offers a rate comparable to nominal annual rates: in short, this gives a rate equivalent to a remuneration rate over one year. More info: Simple interest and compound interest