Worried about their purchasing power, the French take out fewer loans, according to a study

Faced with concerns about their purchasing power, fewer and fewer French people have a loan and plan to take out one soon, according to a study published on Tuesday February 14 by the French Banking Federation and the French Association of financial companies.

According to this annual study, carried out by Kantar with a representative sample of the French population of 13.000 households with a response rate of nearly 70%, 43,4% of French households had a mortgage, real estate or consumer, in 2022, the lowest level recorded since the creation of this barometer in 1989.

It is above all the share of consumer loans which has fallen, for the fifth consecutive year, from 24% in 2021 to 21,8%.

Referring to AFP "the rise in concerns", Michel Mouillart, professor of economics who presented the results of the study, explained that "in this case, it is the expenditure of durable consumption (car, household equipment, works, Editor's note) which are the most quickly and clearly affected".

The share of households holding a mortgage has also fallen, but less quickly, from 30,6% in 2021 to 30,1% in 2022, i.e. its 2015 level.

For the next six months, 3,9% of households intend to take out a new mortgage, compared to 4,8% in 2021, a drop of nearly 20% in one year.

Intentions "fall to their lowest level since 1997, well below their long-term average (4,8%)", underlines the study.

“Personal contribution requirements have increased considerably” and households “must have sufficient visibility” concerning their purchasing power to commit to such a long-term project, which is less the case in the current context. , emphasizes Mr. Mouillart.

In addition, the vast majority of households with credit, 87,3%, ensure that the weight of repayment charges is "on the whole bearable", one of the highest proportions of the past two decades, underlines the study. , despite inflation.