Crédit Foncier de France

Former head office of Crédit Foncier at 19, rue des Capucines in Paris

Crédit Foncier de France (French pronunciation: [kʁedi fɔ̃sje də fʁɑ̃s], CFF) was a major French bank, active from 1852 to 2019 when its activities were entirely subsumed into Groupe BPCE, although the brand name appears to remain active.

History

Entrance of Credit Foncier de France, c. 1913

The Crédit Foncier (English: landed credit) initially made loans to communes. The movement was initiated by Louis Wolowski and Count Xavier Branicki, and sanctioned by Emperor Napoleon III in 1852 in an attempt to modernize the medieval French banking system and expand French investment outside Europe. Its name became the "Banque Foncière of Paris". Similar institutions at Nevers and Marseille were amalgamated into one under the title of "Crédit Foncier de France". The amount of the loan could not exceed half of the value of the property pledged or hypothecated, and that the repayment of the loan was by an annuity, which included the interest and part of the principal, terminable at a certain date. The Crédit Foncier had a monopoly on mortgages.[1][2]

In 1995, the bank reported a loss of 10.8 billion francs, and in 1996, the French government gave Credit Foncier a bailout to prevent it from collapsing, fearing the resulting financial downturn. After the bailout, the French government began planning to dissolve the bank, with Finance Minister Jean Arthuis seeking to sell its core housing loans businesses to Credit Immobilier et Hotelier (CIB) and wind down all other operations. Initial estimates stated that at least 900 of Credit Foncier's 3,300 employees were to be laid off,[3] but this was later revised upwards to around 1,500 layoffs.[4] Employees of the bank, in protest, captured the high-ranking executives for several days, until the government decided to negotiate with the employees.[4]

On 26 June 2018 it was announced that the organisation was to be closed, and its activities integrated into BPCE. The brand appears to remain active.[5]

Former headquarters

Façade of the former Crédit Foncier complex on Place Vendôme
Interior court of the former Hotel d'Evreux

The Crédit Foncier used to be headquartered in a prestigious building complex that included the former Hôtel d'Évreux [fr] on Place Vendôme, and the Hôtel Castanier on rue des Capucines as well as a number of adjacent constructions. Crédit Foncier moved into the Hôtel Castanier as early as 1854,[6] had it remodeled by architect Antoine-Nicolas Bailly, and expanded into the Hotel d'Evreux in 1896.

The property was sold by Crédit Foncier to the Thani family of Qatar in 2003 for 250 million euro,[7] and was comprehensively renovated from 2009.

See also

References

  1. ^ Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Crédit Foncier" . Encyclopedia Americana.
  2. ^ Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Crédit Foncier" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
  3. ^ Macintyre, Ben (20 January 1997). "Staff of troubled Paris bank hold executives hostage". The Times. No. 65, 791. p. 8. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Angry bank employees release hostages but vow to fight job cuts". Deseret News. Associated Press. 23 January 1997. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  5. ^ Bpce. "Groupe BPCE launches a project geared to integrating Crédit Foncier's activities and teams into the Group". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  6. ^ "L'hôtel Castanier, Crédit Foncier de France". Paris Promeneurs. 13 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Le Crédit Foncier cède son patrimoine à l'émir du Qatar". Les Echos. 13 February 2003.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A9dit_Foncier_de_France