The number of over-indebtedness files filed by individuals has been falling since the start of the year thanks to the social shock absorbers of the Covid crisis and more protective legislation, Banque de France officials said on Tuesday in Marseille.
In the Provence-Alpes-Cte d’Azur region, particularly affected like Hauts-de-France, the number of files filed is also down over the first four months of the year, but with, it must be recognized, more questions at the counter, on the phone from people looking for possible help, said regional director Jean-Christophe Ehrhardt.
In 2021, some 10,000 files had been filed in Paca, a region marked by great inequalities, he recalled during a press conference for the inauguration of the renovated site of Banque Marseille.
The Banque de France offers a mechanism to help people who are financially suffocated by the reimbursement of excessive credits or charges, allowing reimbursements to be frozen, as well as interest, while a solution is found with the creditors. This support can go as far as the cancellation of certain debts in the most serious cases.
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39113 filed files
Between January and the end of April 2022, 39,113 over-indebtedness files had been filed in France, compared to 44,703 a year earlier, a drop of around 13%, according to an official from the Banque de France. We are on a downward trend observed for several years which continues, estimated the first deputy governor Denis Beau.
Law imposing more caution on banks for the granting of credit, better information for consumers on hidden consumer credit and improvement of the economic situation before the Covid crisis have made it possible to have a clear downward trend, explained to AFP Gilles Duqunois, Departmental Director of the Bank in Vaucluse, one of the poorest departments in France.
Caution is still required, however, and the Bank wants to publicize its system by allowing the public to access it online but also through physical reception at counters. Especially since the shock of the war in Ukraine will lead to a slowdown in growth, recalled Mr. Beau.
In the first quarter of 2022, nearly 190,000 French people encountered difficulties in repaying a loan, i.e. 15% more than during the same period last year, the Banque de France had indicated in April.
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