Solidarity-based finance: the key role played by support organizations
To ensure the financing of solidarity-based projects for individuals or social enterprises, the Group's banks are in contact with the associations that receive and support project leaders in a personalized way.
The Group is fulfilling its role as a banker with three main partners: France Active, Initiative France, and ADIE. These partnerships enable banks to leverage their support by joining in projects that enjoy greater security because they are already approved and benefit from guarantees or interest-free loans.
In 2016, ADIE benefited from €25 million in lines of credit from Banque Populaire, enabling 6,283 entrepreneurs to launch their microenterprises. For its part, France Active works with the Caisses d'Epargne and the Banque Populaire banks both on the financing of very small businesses and on the financing of solidarity-based companies. The contribution made by the Group represents on average 35%* of the activity of these partners.
The upstream and downstream support provided by these partners is a major asset for the sustainability of projects measured over 5 years and therefore for the retention of borrowers.
In 2016, €513 million was granted to nearly 16,000 project leaders supported by financing provided by the Group, which remains the leading bank for solidarity-based entrepreneurs.
* Source: 2016 Ailancy© research