Preventing and resolving over-indebtedness

The Banque de France has been striving for several years to prevent social and financial exclusion. It has developed a range of initiatives to assist vulnerable segments of the population.

To improve the quality of support available to those in debt, the Banque de France organises between 700 and 800 training and information sessions a year for people working in the social sector. Attended by over 11,000 social workers, the events are an opportunity to provide updates on legislative and regulatory developments and explain the procedures for handling excessive debt. In one in two over-indebtedness cases submitted to the Bank, a social worker is identified in the file as working with the applicant.

The Banque de France has set up partnerships with various organisations with the aim of ensuring over-indebted individuals get the help they need. Through its agreement with Union nationale des centres d’actions sociales (National Union of Social Action Community Centres), its partnership with Crédit Municipal de Paris and its collaboration with Points d’information mediation (a national information and mediation network), the Bank has strengthened its cooperation with the social and non-profit sector, and helped to improve the standard of assistance provided to the financially vulnerable.

In 2016, the Banque de France supported the experimental Points Conseil Budget network (PCB - budget management advice network) through a number of actions:

• Priority was given to the provision of training for PCB operators.
• As part of its new mission to educate the general public on finance and economics, the Banque de France plans to expand its training offering for social workers to cover banking issues and budget management. Its financial education portal will therefore contain an official PCB page where visitors can find advice on budget management and money. The page will also explain the PCB’s role and include an interactive map of France allowing visitors to locate their nearest branch. The Banque de France will therefore provide the website planned as part of the PCB project.

Lastly, the Banque de France publishes numerous reports on the prevention and management of cases of excessive household debt, and on the factors leading to over-indebtedness.

The Banque de France is also involved in the national strategy to develop the Maisons de Service au Public (MSAP), a network of citizens’ advice bureaux offering help in dealing with money, legal and consumer problems.