Personal loans fell sharply again in the third quarter, by 25.5% year-on-year, penalized by the reluctance of credit institutions for whom these products are less profitable, the French Association of Financial Companies (ASF) said on Wednesday. .
Over the first nine months, the fall in activity reached 26.3% compared to the same period of 2022, according to the ASF.
Since the start of central bank key rates to counter inflation, these products have been much less profitable for banks and other players in this market, who have become more selective.
More generally, the French consumer credit market is entering into crisis, deplores the ASF in its monthly report published at the end of September.
The activity of specialized establishments lags behind on average by -6.7% in the third quarter.
Financing of new automobiles is also up 2.4% in the third quarter and 7.7% over nine months. This growth is mainly driven by rental with purchase option (LOA) transactions, while loans allocated to new automobiles have been in sharp decline since the start of the school year.
All consumer credits combined, production was down in the third quarter (-6.7%), the decline reaching 4.1% over the first nine months of 2023 for a total of 35.15 billion euros in new credits.
The ASF brings together some 260 companies involved in furniture and real estate leasing, factoring, and other associated services.