In a study published this Thursday, October 13, INSEE observes that while there is currently no clear increase in financial precariousness, inflation is increasingly eating away at the purchasing power of some households, leading to a risk of deterioration in the coming months.
No clear increase in financial precariousness in the first part of 2022. This is, in essence, the message that INSEE delivers in an analysis published on October 13. Thus, the share of discovered households and that of households with few assets in their accounts, which had decreased during the first confinement in 2020, remain in August 2022 at levels below those of 2019.
However, all is not rosy. INSEE notes, for example, that inflation has been observed since the summer of 2021 plays negatively on the purchasing power of households, raising fears of a future deterioration in their financial situation. The erosion of household wealth is thus reflected in a slowdown, or even a decrease since the summer of 2021, in the value of gross financial wealth, which has increased sharply since 2019, particularly for households with low incomes. And inflation has a cost for French households: 112 euros per month, according to a survey published this week by Panorabanques and Poll&Roll.
Lower numbers 2019
As a result, the proportion of households discovered has been increasing slowly since the beginning of 2021, notes INSEE. Thus, based on customer data from La Banque Postale and Crdit Mutuel, INSEE explains that in August 2022, the proportion of households discovered at the end of the month and the proportion of households with more than five days of overdraft in the month are slightly higher than at the start of 2021. According to data from La Banque Postale, in August 2022, 7.5% of households were discovered at the end of the month, compared to 6.9% in January 2021.
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Nevertheless, INSEE would like to point out that while the precariousness indicators are up slightly, they remain lower levels than 2019. Thus, while nearly a quarter of La Banque Postale customer households were discovered for more than 5 days in January (24.2%) and July (24.3%) 2019, the proportion of these households fell by two points in 2022 (22.3% in May). In its October survey, Panorabanques explained for its part that the average amount of unauthorized overdrafts is up 11%, 317 euros against 284 euros last year.