Insee Analyses · October 2022 · n° 76

Financial insecurity slightly up due to rising inflation, though lower in August 2022 than before the pandemic

Since the summer of 2021, inflation has eroded purchasing power and raised fears of a deterioration of some households’ financial situation. However, up to the summer of 2022, no sharp increase in financial insecurity could be detected on bank account data. The share of overdrawn households and the share of households with few liquid assets declined during the 2020 lockdown; in August 2022 those shares remained below their values in 2019.

Yet gross financial assets have been sharply rising since 2019, but then markedly slowed down, and even declined in real terms since the summer of 2021; it is especially the case for low-income households. On top of that, the share of overdrawn households has been slowly increasing since early 2021. Last, households have seemingly reduced their spending in real terms, especially as regards fuel and energy, in order to preserve their financial situation.