Le crédit à la consommation dans la bancarisation

The bank laws of 1966-1967, called the "Debré Acts", triggered a spectacular development in French banking services (bancarization). Retail banks developed a package of new products for millions of new customers. This article focuses on one of these products, namely consumer credit. Before bancarization, retail banks did not sell consumer credit. Instead they owned subsidiary companies which specialized in installment credit linked to mass sellers such as department stores. Nevertheless French bankers were already extremely interested in consumer credit, and closely analyzed American banking practices. The Debré Acts created a huge increase in the amount of credit available. Retail banks specialized in money lent to customers without any questions asked concerning to what purposes it would be put. The development of consumer credit led banks to create sophisticated statistical systems which were used by marketing departments to segment consumers. Finally, this article focuses on consumer associations, presenting them as at first curious and interested in but ultimately critical of consumer credit.