Faced with long-term or temporary financial difficulties, or simply a hard blow, some have recourse to the Crédit municipal de Nancy, created by the city in 1834. This public establishment, heir to the Mont-de-Piété established in Italy by the he church in the Middle Ages was the only one in Lorraine to offer pawnbrokers. “You can put two kinds of objects there,” explains Michel Côme, the director. “One, gold objects, which in fact represent the majority of deposits (80 to 90% of them). Gold is indeed a safe haven, a transmission of heritage”. And its price has been multiplied by five over the last 20 years. “And then there is everything else, all the objects that can have a value. Luxury objects, art and collections. It can also be wine or a bicycle”.
“95% of objects recovered by their owner”
When, with only an identity document and proof of residence, you deposit an object with the Municipal Credit, the latter, in exchange, immediately lends you a certain amount of money. Impossible to find simpler or faster. For gold, the price is the weight. “Yes, we lend €24 for a gram of 18 carat gold (€26 if more than 18 carats, €20 for 14 carats). The other objects are estimated by an auctioneer”. And the Municipal Credit lends up to two-thirds of the value estimated by the latter.
A 6-month contract is then established. “But you are not required to complete the contract if you have the money to repay. You should know that 95% of the objects are ultimately recovered by their owner”. The Municipal Credit is remunerated with interest. “Which range from 0%, for loans up to €100, to 1.1% per month”.
Crédit municipal welcomes all social categories. “Especially people who are in financial difficulty and who don’t have the option of borrowing money through the traditional route of consumer loans, but also other people, with real wealth, who have a need immediate liquidity.
Groceries or a full tank of gas
A veritable barometer of the economic and social situation because it is directly involved in daily life, Crédit municipal recorded an increase in the number of loan applications last year. “A large part of our depositors are regulars, but here we are now seeing people arrive who we did not know, who did not contact us. There has been an influx of people coming for small deposits, under €100. What is also new is the destination of this money: to pay daily bills, to go shopping, or to fill up with gas”. A sign that times have indeed changed…
