Debt consolidation: the silent revolution

A market that is recovering, but the amounts financed are declining.

The debt consolidation market is experiencing a strong recovery after peaking between 2020 and 2022, driven by the low interest rates resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, during which credit was readily available. This was followed by a sharp decline in 2023 and 2024 due to rising interest rates linked to the invasion of Ukraine. At Meilleurtaux, the number of financed loans has thus increased by nearly 15% year-on-year.

Since 2020, the average amount financed through debt consolidation has seen mixed results. “It initially increased sharply, rising from €57.900 in 2020 to a peak of €69.800 in 2022. With interest rates at their lowest during the Covid period, it was very easy to refinance loans under better conditions. Since this peak and the subsequent rise in rates, the trend has clearly reversed, with the average amount now hovering around €54.000,” explains Maxime Chipoy, Editorial Director of Meilleurtaux. Overall, the average amount financed is nearly 6% lower than its 2020 level and more than 22% lower than the 2022 peak.

A growing proportion of major cases

In detail, this decrease in average amounts masks a redistribution of renegotiated loan levels. “Very large loans, often including real estate, were refinanced at their lowest rates between 2020 and 2022. Their share is down sharply, as is that of renegotiations of limited amounts (less than €30.000) consisting of consumer loans, but for a different reason: with the rise in rates since 2022, it is difficult to work on some of these cases without exceeding the usury rate,” explains Maxime Chipoy of Meilleurtaux.

It is the upper-middle-income loans, ranging from €50,000 to €100.000, that have seen the strongest growth – nearly 50% – over the last five years. This level of loan amounts, rarely seen among lower-income clients, is linked to a fundamental shift in the type of clients now interested in debt consolidation.

This move upmarket is also reflected in the real estate status of subscribers: lending institutions increasingly favour owner profiles, which offer additional guarantees.

Wealthier, older, less indebted clients

The average income of subscribers has thus increased from €3.240 in 2020 to €4.180 in 2025, representing a significant 29% increase in average income over six years. This rise is linked to two trends: the near disappearance of low-income households, which now constitute less than 5% of subscribers compared to 17% five years earlier, and the sharp increase in high-income households, with incomes exceeding €5.000 per month. These households now represent nearly a quarter of subscribers (24%), compared to 11% five years prior.

Maxime Chipoy, Editorial Director of Meilleurtaux: “Similarly, in 2025, tenants accounted for 62% of applications, but only 40% of funded loans. Conversely, homeowners accounted for 38% of applications, but 60% of funded loans. Lending institutions are becoming increasingly selective, as the presence of real estate is, conversely, a guarantee valued by lenders.”

Moreover, the very nature of the renegotiations themselves has changed in recent years: the bulk of the market is no longer linked to budgetary survival restructurings to avoid over-indebtedness, but to budget optimization, often coupled with the financing of new projects.

This trend can be seen through the average debt ratio before consolidation: over five years, this has clearly declined, falling from 48,4% in 2020 to 41,9% in 2025.

The classic scenario now is that of a household too indebted to qualify for a standard bank loan, but whose debt remains manageable. Renegotiation allows them to kill two birds with one stone: restructure their debt – even if it means extending it – to also finance a new project (car purchase, renovations, home improvements).

Maxime Chipoy, from Meilleurtaux: “For example, we recently worked on the case of a couple with 3 children, over 5.000 euros in income and 7 loans, who wanted to consolidate all their debts to finance the purchase of a new car. The consolidation reduced their debt-to-income ratio from 38% to 31%.”

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.