HCSF. Until a few months ago, this acronym with its difficult pronunciation was still unknown to the French. But in the meantime, the European Central Bank (ECB) has taken the fight against inflation head on by raising its key rates around ten times. In the wake of this shift in monetary policy, mortgage rates have skyrocketed. In this context, the decisions of the HCSF – for High Financial Stability Council – are closely scrutinized. Since 2019, it has set the maximum debt rate authorized for households at 35% and limited the duration of loans to 25 years.
This body, responsible for monitoring the financial system, met this Monday, December 4 to decide on possible adjustments with a view to relaxing the market. To facilitate access to real estate loans, the volume of which has fallen by 40% in the space of a year, several players in the sector called for a relaxation of the granting conditions, in particular for the benefit of first-time buyers. Even Bruno Le Maire said he was in favor of possible adjustments. The ace. In the end, only three measures, on the margins and which were already circulating in the press, were adopted.
The first concerns the duration of the loan: as soon as renovation work – energy or not – represents more than 10% of the amount of the total operation, the standard of 25 years could rise to 27 years. Then, the bridging loan – allowing you to finance the purchase of a new property – will no longer be taken into account in the calculation of the maximum authorized debt rate. Finally, each bank had until now the possibility of deviating from the HCSF rules in 20% of cases. This percentage was calculated per quarter. It can now be smoothed over three months.
The French are no longer able to access the property, and these technical adjustments will not solve the root of the problem. Especially since in reality, some of them would already apply. “I am devastated. The bridging loan has never been taken into account in the debt rate, while the deferral has always been possible when there was work! They are quite simply creating this rule of 10 %”, criticizes Bérangère Dubus, general secretary of the Union of Credit Intermediaries. “In addition, bridging loans only constitute 8% of loans granted and almost only concern seniors,” adds the trade unionist. As for the spread of the 20% rule over three quarters, it does not seem to meet the expectations of the banks who consider this system far too complex to apply.
Real estate professionals were quick to react. The National Real Estate Federation (FNAIM) denounces “insufficient announcements given the scale of the crisis”, while the brokerage company Meilleurtaux considers that “the table has not been turned”. When the results are not there, the debate returns to the question of the composition of the High Council for Financial Stability: at its head, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire and, among its ex officio members, François Villeroy de Galhau, the governor of the Bank of France.
The two men have often displayed their differences on the subject in recent months. The first leaning towards a relaxation of credit conditions, considered “too strict”, the second warning several times about the risks of household over-indebtedness. “Today, there is no more debate. Bruno Le Maire lost. The Bank of France weighed in with all its weight and its governor does not want to be disowned, believes Bérangère Dubus. It’s a lack of courage policy”. In the meantime, these measures add a little more complexity to a system that is already far too sophisticated. And the housing crisis has no solution.