Groupe BPCE confirms its leadership in microcredit

From February 1 - 5, 2016, the Microcredit Week organized by the Adie support network is not-to-be-missed annual event that provides Banque Populaire with a opportunity to assist Adie in its fight in favor of employment by relaying its information campaign focused on microcredit.

A partner of the Adie association since its creation, the Banque Populaire banks are its principal refinancing partner, having granted lines of credit worth more than €25 million to the microfinance institution.

Thanks to their financing, the Banque Populaire banks have supported 6,300 project leaders, including nearly 2,000 assisted by Crédit Coopératif.

The Banque Populaire banks also support Créajeunes, Adie's program for training young people in the skills of entrepreneurship.
In the professional microcredit market, Groupe BPCE has forged partnerships through its two retail-banking networks with the major micro-entrepreneur support organizations. Professional microcredit solutions provide funds for projects related to new business creation or the acquisition of existing companies, and include support for the micro-creators at the different stages in the development of their activities.

The Banque Populaire banks and Caisses d'Epargne have also developed professional microcredit activities with France Active and Initiative France through guarantee funds and unsecured “honor” loans. 

France Active, a solidarity-based provider of funds for employment, is a local network that addresses locally based micro-creators who have become excluded from the world of work. In 2015, €60 million in guaranteed loans were granted by the Banque Populaire banks and Caisses d'Epargne to 2,200 project leaders.

Initiative France contributes to local economic development through its 230 platforms. The Banque Populaire banks and Caisses d'Epargne, which are also well established in the French regions, support project leaders benefiting from honor loans and granted €300 million in top-up loans to more than 5,000 future entrepreneurs in 2015.

In the personal microcredit market, Groupe BPCE relies on the guarantees provided by the Fonds de cohésion Sociale (Social Cohesion Fund) managed by the Caisse des Dépôts.
Secured personal microcredit is a bank loan granted to a natural person who does not have access to “traditional bank credit.” It is designed to facilitate the integration into employment of people accompanied by a social entity or a local authority.

In the third quarter of 2015, Groupe BPCE's share of this market stood at 47% with a 34.6% stake for the Caisses d'Epargne with its Parcours Confiance network and Créa'Sol and 12.4% for Crédit Coopératif via partnerships with associations. Together, they account for the distribution of nearly 38,000 loans.

Thanks to all these partnerships forged by the Banque Populaire banks and Caisses d'Epargne, Groupe BPCE remains the leading funder in France of solidarity-based loans including support services.