Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 15, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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France cuts savings account interest rate to 2.4%, aiding banks and aligning with European peers. The move follows Bank of France's advice.
PARIS (Reuters) -French Finance Minister Eric Lombard decided on Wednesday to lower the regulated interest rate on popular tax-free savings accounts, offering French banks relief from payouts that exceed those offered by European peers.
The ministry said Lombard was following a recommendation from Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau to lower the rate to 2.4% from Feb. 1 from the current 3%.
The Finance Ministry generally follows the central bank's recommendations for the interest rate, which has implications for banks' asset-liability management.
French savers had a combined 427 billion euros ($440 billion) in Livret A accounts as of the last count dating from November, plus another 155 billion euros in similarly regulated LDDS accounts, according to the Caisse des Depots, a public sector finance body.
The central bank makes its interest rate recommendation according to a formula based in part on inflation and short-term interest rates, aiming to give savers a slight real return over inflation.
The prospect of a cut in the interest rate that the government obliges banks to pay savers on the accounts comes as some investors in European bank shares take a fresh look at French opportunities.
Jupiter Asset Management fund manager Guy de Blonay said a cut would help French banks that have not benefited from higher interest rates over the past few years to compete more effectively for investor cash versus European peers.
"Europe has a two-speed banking sector. France is on one side, and countries like Italy and Spain are on the other," he told Reuters. "The expected cut to the Livret A rate may help to alter that, although political and economic uncertainty will continue to affect French banks."
($1 = 0.9699 euros)
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Additional reporting by Sinead Cruise in London, Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Philippa Fletcher and Gareth Jones)
The new interest rate for Livret A accounts will be lowered to 2.4% from the current 3% starting February 1.
The decision to cut the interest rate was based on a recommendation from Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau, aimed at providing relief to French banks.
As of the last count in November, French savers had a combined total of 427 billion euros in Livret A accounts.
The Bank of France's interest rate recommendations are based on a formula that considers inflation and short-term interest rates to ensure savers receive a slight real return.
The expected cut to the Livret A rate may help French banks compete more effectively for investments, especially as they have not benefited from higher interest rates in recent years.
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