Franfinance

History

A subsidiary of Société Générale , Franfinance results from the merger in 1989 of three subsidiaries of Société Générale ² :

• The Auxiliary Credit Company, specializing in the financing of cars for individuals and the financing of companies mainly in the fields of transport, construction and agricultural equipment.
• The CREG (Electric and Gas Credit) ³ , specializing in consumer credit, mainly in two major areas: home equipment (household appliances, television …) and home improvement (kitchen, fireplace, veranda …) as well as in personal loans whose main support is the Plural bank card.
• Diebold-Solomateg ⁴ , specialized in leasing and financing by leasing of computer equipment or computer leasing and in financing to companies, particularly in the fields of IT, office automation and medical equipment.

The objective, in 1989, is to regain market shares that large commercial banks have left, during the glorious thirties , to new specialized credit groups, such as Compagnie Bancaireand Sofinco-La Hénin (bought back, ten years later, in 1999, by Crédit Agricole ), and to mutualists ² .

Franfinance had until 2013, 28 agencies before changing its organization. Faced with a reduction in the credit business, and increasingly complex regulatory obligations, in 2013 the company moved from a decentralized organization to a narrower organization while dematerialising the underwriting process more and more. ⁵ .

Franfinance deployed on March 29, 2016, the electronic signature ⁶ to all its credits. It is thus the first financial institution ⁷ to offer the electronic signature to its customers and prospects. The customer can choose to sign his contract online, in which case he will be redirected to a secure platform ⁸ otherwise he has the option to sign his contract in paper version.

To sign electronically, Franfinance sends a one-time password via SMS to the mobile number of the customer, then simply enter the code received and the request is validated.

In December 2017, Franfinance announces an agreement with Cegedim to acquire 100% of Cegelease, equipment rental to healthcare professionals ⁹ .

Activities

Franfinance is structured around two activities:

• the consumer credit for individuals;
• asset financing and sales to companies under the Societe Generale Equipment Finance brand.

Financing to individuals

Franfinance works in partnership with numerous brands to enable them to develop their turnover by offering financing solutions to their individual customers. Franfinance particular carries a partnership with La Banque Postale for the distribution of credit to consumption ¹⁰ .

By relying on partnerships with various brands or on its own behalf, Franfinance has been particularly active in six sectors:

• The improvement of the habitat (swimming pool, heating, window …): Art and Windows, Desjoyaux …
• Furnishings (furniture, kitchen): Wood and Cloths, Kitchen Plus, Aviva, Ixina …
• The equipment of the home and the person (multimedia, household appliances, childcare …): Toys’R’Us, Ubaldi, Digital, Expert, Connection, Aubert …
• Leisure (travel, gardening, DIY …): Nouvelles Frontières, Bricorama …
• Services (insurance, energy, optics, hearing …): Bolloré Énergie, BP …
• The revolving credit without a card (Budget +)

In 2008, Franfinance was also awarded the European prize for the Best New Affinitarian Card with the French Golf Federation MasterCard ¹¹ .

More than 700 Franfinance employees are dedicated to retail financing and more specifically to sales financing. As such, in 2007, Franfinance was one of the first credit companies to have offered a bank card in the colors of major brands such as Nouvelles Frontières (the partnership between the two companies has not existed since 2015) ¹² . For the brand, it is an offer of additional service building customer loyalty. For the credit institution, Franfinance in this case, it is additional income, credit is particularly expensive for the consumer ^13 , 12 .

Digital risk insurance is also offered by Franfinance ¹⁴ .

Business financing

Franfinance, under the Societe Generale Equipment Finance ¹⁵ brand , works in partnership with manufacturers and distributors to enable them to develop their turnover by offering a full range of financing solutions for their corporate customers.

Franfinance offers financing solutions: conventional credit, leasing, financial and operating leases, structured products … as well as personal services (insurance, remarketing, etc.). The company intervenes in the following business sectors:

• High Technology (IT, Office, Medical)
• Industrial Equipment (Production Machinery, Construction)
• Transportation (Industrial Vehicles, Utility Vehicles, Semi Trailer, Carrier, Tractor, Coach)
• Handling.

Franfinance also manages a service business on behalf of Société Générale Group leasing companies ^16 , 17 .

In 1997, Franfinance concluded an agreement for the purchase of part of the European network of leasing companies of ILC ^18 , 19 .

Through these partnerships, Franfinance has seen its long-term Standard & Poor’s rating increased from A to A + ¹⁸ .

The dematerialization of the credit subscription

Since 2011, Franfinance has put in place a paperless subscription solution allowing it to reduce costs, while being part of a general technological evolution that is experienced by some consumers as simpler and faster ^20 , 21 . The customer can choose to subscribe to an “all-digital” contract ²¹ .

This solution, called Dem @ t ‘+, was rewarded by the “Publi-News Trophy” of innovative banking solutions 2012 in the category “Paperless transactions and contracts” ²² .

A partnership with the association Croesus

Franfinance, along with CGI Finance, another subsidiary of Societe Generale, has signed a partnership agreement with the network of associations Crésus, specialized since 1992 in the assistance to people in deep debt or over indebtedness.

The aim of this partnership is to set up budget support for customers with financial difficulties. As part of this partnership, Franfinance offers customers who have difficulties repaying their current loan, to make them contact with Croesus. The signature of a “charter of accompaniment” between the association and the voluntary customer leads to the realization of a budgetary and social balance, followed by a personalized accompaniment. Meanwhile, Croesus realized in real time its intermediation ²³ .

Hives Franfinance

In 2015, Franfinance welcomes its headquarters in Rueil-Malmaison 2 hives to demonstrate a commitment to a CSR action for the preservation of bees ²⁴ .

Notes and references