The number of over-indebtedness files filed with the Banque de France has increased moderate
since the beginning of the year, according to figures published this week by the Observatory of Banking Inclusion (OIB).
The number of applications filed in the first half of 2023 (58,625) is up 5% compared to the first six months of 2022. the institution, this increase is remarkable while the number of applications filed has been falling almost continuously for almost 10 years.
In its 2022 annual report, published at the end of June, the OID declared in this sense “ to stay attentive “, with the intention ” deepen the analysis to better understand why these budgetary tensions [le ralentissement de l’économie et l’inflation, NDLR] did not translate into difficulties with bank accounts, or only a few ” last year, when the number of files filed had contracted by 7%.
Since 2014, the annual drop in filings has been 8.5% on average per year. ” This trend seems to be due more particularly to the fall in unemployment over this period, as well as to several reforms aimed at preventing over-indebtedness and improving the efficiency of the file processing procedure. The most notable is the Lagarde law of 2010 which strengthened the protection of individuals by more strictly regulating the marketing of consumer credit, in particular revolving credit. “, noted the Banque de France in a statistical survey on the profile of over-indebted households in 2022, published last February, but which did not specifically address the period of galloping inflation, which really started at the end of the year. past.
What does the Banque de France’s over-indebtedness mechanism provide?
A person is said to be over-indebted when they can no longer meet their debts. In each department, a commission is responsible for examining the files submitted by people who wish to access the procedure for dealing with over-indebtedness, which allows them to temporarily benefit from several protective measures: suspension of proceedings (seizures, etc.), penalties and interest for late payment, payment of debts, or even capping of banking incident costs.
At the same time, the Banque de France proposes solutions and submits them to the committees for decision. These solutions consist of a reorganization or cancellation, total or partial, of the debts, of waiting measures or of a combination of these measures. Over-indebted people are registered in the Personal Credit Repayment Incident File (FICP) for a maximum of seven years.
What is the profile of over-indebted people?
According to the latest Banque de France survey, two-thirds of over-indebted people are aged 25 to 54 and only 13% aged 65 or over, women, isolated people (separated, widowed, single) and Single-parent families are most at risk. In 88% of the files examined in 2022, the households concerned were tenants or housed free of charge, and nearly half were unemployed, unemployed, sick or disabled (2.5 times the proportion observed for the population as a whole ).
The median monthly standard of living of over-indebted people is 1,084 euros (compared to 1,881€ for the national average). 61% have a standard of living below the poverty line, compared to 15% for the French population as a whole. The poverty rate even exceeds 70% among single mothers and their children.
” Half of over-indebted households have no repayment capacity to meet their debts. The accidents of life such as job loss or separation often aggravate already fragile budgetary situations “, also underlined the investigation. A situation which has also deteriorated in 2022, the average real standard of living of these households having progressed less than the minimum wage and inflation.
What is the nature of the debts?
The overall debt of households having filed an over-indebtedness file amounted to 4.3 billion euros in 2022, down 12% compared to 2021.
- The share of consumer debt is approximately 38% of total debt;
- Real estate debts (real estate loans) are present in only 11% of situations, but the weight of these debts represents 29% of total debt (down 2 points compared to 2021, a year which already recorded a decrease of 3 points of these debts compared to 2020;
- The share of current expense debts (including rents) is 15% of total debt, up 6 points since 2010;
- Other debts represent 17% of total debt, compared to 10% in 2010. However, some files weigh heavily on the whole with amounts that can reach several million euros.