Leasing, “a patch of blue sky in the sluggish market” of consumer credit, according to the CEO of Sofinco – Libération

The French are no longer rushing to take out consumer credit to finance their capital goods or renovation work. But are increasingly resorting to long-term rental to access a new vehicle.

Consumer credit fell by 6.4% at the end of June compared to the same period in 2023, according to figures published by the French Association of Financial Companies (ASF) last Tuesday. Since the start of the year, the market, considered a support for growth, has remained relatively stable, with a decline of 1% in the second quarter compared to the first three months of 2024. For Franck Oniga, CEO of Sofinco, the leading institution in the sector with Cetelem, the market is suffering from the current wait-and-see attitude and the real estate crisis. Similarly, household consumption expenditure on goods is not taking off – around 46.2 billion euros – according to INSEE figures. In July, it increased by 0.3% in volume, after a drop of 0.6% in June.

What do the latest figures given by the ASF in its latest monthly survey tell us?

The consumer credit market is sluggish, down 1% in the first half of 2024, which reflects a form of wait-and-see attitude among the French in the face of current uncertainties, but it is also the direct consequences of a real estate market that has generally come to a standstill. Many distributors are therefore seeing their turnover decrease.