Readers express frustration with equity release loan in France

Several readers report difficulties obtaining information about a ‘new’ equity release loan from the Banque Populaire Caisse d’Epargne (BPCE) group.

Some say they were told the loans are not available to foreign applicants, while others found local branches unaware of the product. One reader also reported receiving unsolicited approaches from third-party firms after making an enquiry.

The issue concerns the prêt viager hypothécaire (PVH), a loan repaid from the borrower’s estate after death. It was previously offered by Crédit Foncier de France, part of the BPCE group, which ceased operations in 2019.

The group has recently resumed promoting these loans under the ‘Crédit Foncier’ brand, including via the brand website. The site directs users to Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne pages inviting them to submit their details to be contacted by an adviser.

In principle, the loans – available only to over-60s – may appeal to homeowners who are asset-rich but cash-poor and looking to release funds later in life. However, readers say enquiries often result in confusion or no clear outcome.

Refused application

We reported last year to BPCE’s communications department a case involving a reader – resident in France for 30 years and a French tax resident – who said Banque Populaire had refused his application.

“We were told that although we meet the usual requirements, our request was denied due to Brexit – in other words, a PVH is not available to people originating outside the EU,” he said.

BPCE’s director of press relations and e-reputation told us the loan had initially been unavailable to “certain foreign clients”, including Britons, but had since been opened up.

He said the product is being deployed progressively across the group’s regional banks – including, for example, CE Grand Est and BP Alsace Lorraine Champagne – but that Britons living anywhere in France are now eligible, provided the property is located in France.

He added that an in-branch meeting is required, and that people may request contact via the online forms or by visiting a branch.

However, BPCE did not provide a full list of regions where the loans are currently available, nor clarify whether a person may apply via a bank in a different region. BPCE networks are divided into around 14 regional banks for Banque Populaire and 15 for Caisse d’Epargne.

Little information

Reader experiences suggest inconsistent information on the ground. A reader in eastern France said he received no response after completing online forms. When he visited branches in Chamonix, staff “knew nothing about it and treated me as if I was an idiot”.

After insisting, he said he was given phone numbers, one of which led to Banque de Savoie (also part of BPCE), which he says told him it had “no such product for Britons or other foreigners”.

Another reader, who visited a Banque Populaire branch in Sarlat (Dordogne), said: “They told me I wasn’t eligible as I am Scottish – ie. not EU.”

A reader in Béziers (Hérault) said he received an email after his visit stating: “We are unable to process this request, as you must be a French national to be eligible for this offer.”

Another Hérault resident said he was initially “excited” by the loan, but after completing forms on both BP and CE websites received a call from someone he understood to be from Crédit Foncier.

He said she spoke rapidly in French, which he struggled to follow, but understood that he was ineligible, though the reasons were unclear, leaving him “confused”.

He later received unsolicited emails from three different third-party loan brokers proposing similar solutions, which he said were unacceptable due to high fees and interest rates. The emails referred to prior interviews or questionnaires, though he said he had only completed the BP and CE forms.

We put these accounts to BPCE, which said the loans are available to Britons provided they can show evidence – such as an avis d’imposition – of paying income tax in France.

“Even so, other specific criteria can, depending on the application, come into play for the acceptance or refusal of a PVH, just like any other application,” it added.

The group also denied sharing applicants’ details with third-party companies.