More than half of consumer credits were used to make ends meet in 2023

Last year, more than half of consumer credits (56%) responded to urgent cash flow needs, that is to say to complete the monthly budget, revealed Tuesday, May 14, a study by Meilleurtaux, consulted by France Inter. According to the composite portrait drawn up by the online broker, these are mainly single borrowers.

Maël Bernier, spokesperson for Meilleurtaux and author of the study, explains that the amounts requested are not used to “to buy a car, or to finance a particular asset” but because there is “a need to make ends meet, to pay the bills, perhaps to repair a broken boiler”. It is therefore mainly a question of “requests relating to an absence of project” precise, she explains.

Loan requests continued to increase by 10% in 2023 compared to 2022. The average amount borrowed peaks at 8,000 euros, down slightly over one year (10,000 euros in 2022). Maël Bernier justifies this reduction, maintaining that it does not mean that “the French ask for less”. This decrease is in fact explained by “the vigilance of lender organizations who do not want to end up with consumer loans that are not repaid”.