Loans to individuals, France - 2026-05
Published on 8th of July 2026
The interest rate on new housing loans remained stable in May at 3.21%
- In May, seasonally adjusted housing loans production (excluding renegotiations) fell slightly to €11.4 billion, down from €12.0 billion in April; the average interest rate on these new housing loans remained stable at 3.21% (after 3.22% in April and March).
- Monthly consumer loans production totaled €4.9 billion, down from €5.8 billion in April. The average interest rate rose to 6.53%, up from 6.37% in April. Year-over-year growth in outstanding amounts stood at 2.2%.
(volumes in €bn)
| Volumes in €bn, proportion in percentage | ||||
| May- 2025 | Mar- 2026 | Apr- 2026 (r) | May- 2026 (p) | |
| Housing loans | 13.8 | 14.7 | 13.9 | 13.2 |
| of which housing loans excluding renegotiations | 11.9 | 12.6 | 12.0 | 11.4 |
| proportion of renegotiated housing loans, in % (b) | 14.1 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 13.4 |
| proportion of fixed rates housing loans, in % (b), (c), (d) | 98.8 | 99.4 | 99.5 | 99.0 |
| proportion of bridge loans, in % (b) | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 5.4 |
| Loans for consumption purposes (e) | 5.5 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 4.9 |
(in percentage)
| May- 2025 | Mar- 2026 | Apr- 2026 (r) | May- 2026 (p) | |
| Housing loans | 3.02 | 3.11 | 3.12 | 3.11 |
| of which housing loans excluding renegotiations | 3.11 | 3.22 | 3.22 | 3.21 |
| of which fixed rates housing loans (c), (d) | 2.97 | 3.08 | 3.09 | 3.08 |
| of which bridge loans | 3.59 | 3.62 | 3.65 | 3.64 |
| Loans for consumption purposes (e) | 6.40 | 6.32 | 6.37 | 6.53 |
| Overdrafts for individuals (f) | 7.57 | 7.93 | 7.68 | 7.69 |
(a) Seasonally adjusted data are updated annually, once all data for the calendar year are available. Seasonal adjustments for the current year are extrapolated from data for the most recent full calendar year available; (b) Ratio calculated using non-seasonally adjusted data; (c) all credits (the split between loans excluding renegociations and renegociated loans is only available for the total of housing loans); (d) Excluding bridge loans; (e) Excluding revolving consumer credit. Installment loans (primarily "point-of-sale credit") and "deferred repayment related to credit card use" are included in consumer credit figures; (f) Overdrafts: ordinary debit accounts + trade receivables (discounts) + factoring + undrawn cash credits (including drawdowns on permanent credit lines); (r) Revised data; (p) Provisional data
(Outstanding amounts in €Bn, annual growth rate in %)
| End-of-month level | Annual growth rate | |||||
| Mar- 2026 | Apr- 2026 (r) | May- 2026 (p) | Mar- 2026 | Apr- 2026 (r) | May- 2026 (p) | |
| Total | 1,538 | 1,539 | 1,539 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 |
| Lending for house purchase | 1,283 | 1,284 | 1,284 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Credit for consumption | 219 | 220 | 219 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
| Other lending | 35 | 36 | 36 | 17.4 | 18.0 | 18.5 |
(r) Revised data; (p) Provisional data
(1) Households = Individuals + sole entrepreneurs + non-profit institutions serving households. The annual growth rate of outstanding housing loans to households in France is 0.8% in May 2026 and 0.2% for individuals alone. The interest rate on new housing loans (excluding renegotiations) is 3.21% in May 2026 for households and also for individuals.
Euro area: New housing loans (excluding renegotiations) to households, cumulative in €Bn
Additional information on access to real estate credit for first-time buyers
The Banque de France collects additional information from a sample of 12 resident banks representing 90% of total outstanding loans, which allows it to break down housing loans according to their characteristics and those of the borrowers (loan amount, number of loans, average term, first-time buyer or not, etc.).
- Since early 2025, the number of loans granted to first-time buyers has been increasing faster than home sales and loans to all borrowers (excluding renegotiations).
- The average initial term of new housing loans for the purchase of a primary residence is 23 years and 5 months for all borrowers and 23 years and 11 months for first-time buyers.
- Since early 2025, the number of loans granted to first-time buyers has been increasing faster than home sales and loans to all borrowers (excluding renegotiations).
- The average initial term of new housing loans for the purchase of a primary residence is 23 years and 5 months for all borrowers and 23 years and 11 months for first-time buyers.
Additional information
- Individuals' is a subset of the 'households' sector, which also includes sole proprietors and non-profit institutions serving households.
- Growth rates are calculated on the basis of changes in outstanding loans (including securitization transactions), adjusting for effects not resulting from economic transactions with customers, in particular write-offs of bad debts (for technical reasons, the effects of exchange rate variations are not adjusted).
- New loan production represents new loans granted, even when they have not yet actually been disbursed to the borrower, in accordance with the ECB's harmonized method; new loan production therefore differs from monthly changes in outstanding loans (outstanding loans recorded after actual disbursement of funds and less amortization of old loans).
- In accordance with the ECB's harmonized definitions, the rates recorded are the narrowly defined effective rate (NDER), corresponding to the interest component of the Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (APRC).
- Growth rates are calculated on the basis of changes in outstanding loans (including securitization transactions), adjusting for effects not resulting from economic transactions with customers, in particular write-offs of bad debts (for technical reasons, the effects of exchange rate variations are not adjusted).
- New loan production represents new loans granted, even when they have not yet actually been disbursed to the borrower, in accordance with the ECB's harmonized method; new loan production therefore differs from monthly changes in outstanding loans (outstanding loans recorded after actual disbursement of funds and less amortization of old loans).
- In accordance with the ECB's harmonized definitions, the rates recorded are the narrowly defined effective rate (NDER), corresponding to the interest component of the Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (APRC).
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Updated on the 7th of July 2026