Bank of France annual report shows regulated savings balances near EUR 950 billion in 2025 despite lower rates

The Bank of France has published its 2025 annual report on regulated savings, showing that these products remained widely used by French households even as interest rates normalized and remuneration was cut. Outstanding balances reached nearly EUR 950 billion at the end of 2025, including EUR 440 billion in Livret A. Net inflows slowed in 2025 after strong growth from 2022 to 2024, particularly as insurance products attracted more savings, but remained positive for Livret A, LDDS and LEP, partly because of accrued interest. The report links that resilience to continued household demand despite lower rates. Livret A was cut from 3.0% to 2.4% on Feb. 1, 2025 and then to 1.7% on Aug. 1, 2025, while LEP was reduced from 4.0% to 3.5% in February 2025, then to 2.7% in August and to 2.5% in February 2026. Livret A remained a near-universal product, held by 83% of the French population at the end of 2025, while LEP continued to expand to more than 12 million holders from 7 million in 2020. The Bank of France also emphasized the financing role of regulated savings. In 2025, the Savings Fund extended EUR 41.6 billion of new loans using resources centralized at Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, up 49% from 2024. That included EUR 9.3 billion for new uses, including refinancing bank loans linked to the ecological transition, and EUR 22.9 billion for social housing and urban policy, supporting the construction and acquisition of more than 123,000 social housing units. Banks using the share of regulated savings kept on their balance sheets also increased new lending to small and medium-sized enterprises by 9%, while outstanding loans for energy renovation work in older buildings, excluding eco-PTZ, rose 21% over one year.