At the request of the government, the major retail banks have deployed exceptional measures to support customers affected by the riots that took place in France after the murder of Nahel M. on Tuesday June 27.
According to a statement by the French Banking Federation (FBF), 370 bank branches were vandalized, including 80 destroyed or set on fire, since the outbreak of the riots a week ago. 40% are located in the Paris region. This violence also affected the customers of these agencies, some of whom suffered damage to their property, in particular their cars.
At the end of a meeting with Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy, the banking profession is committed simplicity and speed in dealing with customer needs, explained Philippe Brassac, Chairman of the FBF and Chief Executive Officer of Crdit Agricole SA.
Zero rate loan
The three main mutual networks have, in recent days, communicated on the exceptional measures implemented for their customers. The BPCE group (Banque Populaire – Caisse d’Epargne) has drawn a zero-rate loan, up to 10,000 euros, intended to finance the replacement of a burned or destroyed vehicle, as well as a special zero-rate business recovery credit for professionals, up to 30,000 euros.
THE Mutual Credit and the CIC have undertaken, as of Monday, to find appropriate solutions on a case-by-case basis, in particular the suspension of credit opportunities and/or exceptional authorized overdrafts. THE Credit Agricole has promised franchise cancellations or the possibility of deferring credit due dates, concerning damaged or destroyed property.
THE SG network (formerly Socit Generale), finally, promised an extension of the time limit for declaring claims to 1 month and an acceleration of the compensation process, with the support of appraisal companies, as well as advances on compensation granted on a case-by-case basis. An exceptional deductible coverage system has also been put in place for Socit Gnrale Assurances customers whose vehicle has been burned or damaged and cannot be repaired.
The ras-le-bol of the bank’s salaries
In a press release dated June 30, Frdric Guyonnet, national president of the SNB / CFE-CGC, the leading union in the sector, expressed the frustration of employees, tired of being constantly the target of violence and incivility: Without banks, the vast majority of customers would not be able to realize their dream: buying their main residence, setting up a business, buying a vehicle… It must be remembered. We are here to support customers and we must stop seeing bank employees as thieves.
According The echoes, some bank executives would consider not reopening the destroyed branches. A prospect that worries the boss of the SNB / CFE-CGC, while nearly 4% of points of sale have already disappeared in 2022: We are for a strong network of the territory of bank branches in order to be close to our customers. The violence against our brands should not call into question these establishments.