■■for its partners' sales forces and credit influencers, CGI has established a remote training tool on regulatory aspects (Lagard Act and Insurance Intermediation). The main goal is to ensure that employees of partners know the regulations regarding credit and insurance and thus carry out intermediation operations in accordance with the regulations and in respect for consumer protection. ■■Franfinance, as part of the “Successful Lending” commitment has established initiatives to reinforce customer support: training actions for partner brands to improve their ability to sell and to explain credit, an online budget calculator allowing customers to assess their repayment ability, and an online educational section to inform customers about the various types of loans and how they work. Over-indebtednes Societe Generale pays partic ular attention to over-indebtednes With 2,250 branches in France, Societe Generale is necessarily concerned. The Group has the resources necessary to identify this customer category in order to ensure responsible treatment of these cases. An external source of relevant, up-to-date, and objective information, the bank consults the Banque de France’s national consumer credit negative file (FICP) to help it identify overindebted customers and before setting in place a specific procedure and monthly follow-up. In 2010, the Group’s two subsidiaries specialising in consumer lending, Franfinance and CGI, signed an agreement with the charity Crésus (a network of federated associations that has supported deeply indebted or over-indebted individuals since 1992). As part of this partnership, they offer customers in situations of financial vulnerability the opportunity to contact Crésus in their region in order to receive local support aimed at restoring financial balance. The partnership was renewed in 2011 and 2012 and extended to other regions following the initial tests carried out in the kick-off in two regions. In late 2012, 513 customers were put into contact with Crésus, with 322 (around 63%) accepting the charity’s support. A procedure dedicated to over-indebtednes since 2004 Societe Generale introduced a dedicated process to ensure the responsible management of over-indebted customers as early as 2004. Societe Generale maintains the service of bank accounts in which revenues are domiciled, except in special cases, and informs over-indebted customers of alternative payment methods to cheques. The debtor continues to benefit from the overdraft that had been granted. These accounts are managed by customer advisors. As such, the process is based on the advisor’s two-way relationship with their customer and with the back-office operator who assesses the customer’s financial situation before any new loans are granted and manages the repayment schedule once they have been approved. Thanks to this procedure, the bank is able to avoid any increase in loans borne by an over-indebted customer whilst still providing day-to-day monitoring. 32 In France in 2012, 765,000 households in France were recognised as over-indebted, 240,258 cases were presented to an over-indebtedness commission, and 179,561 cases were deemed admissible*. * Verified by Ernst & Young
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