BRD sets up consumer finance arm

At the end of last year, BRD-SocGen established BRD Finance, a company specialising in consumer finance. The development was carried out in partnership with Franfinance, the equivalent of branch of Societe Generale. Franfinance owns 51% in the new company, with BRD-SocGen owning the remaining 49%. The new entity will take care of the consumer finance programmes of the major retail chains and already has partnerships with Cora, Domo and Carrefour. It began operations towards the end of last year and finalised the takeover of the entire consumer credit portfolio from those stores. The company will not underwrite the default risk for the loans granted by the bank. BRD Finance could develop relations with other partners planning to offer consumer credit. It has its own client database and own scoring system in place. Company officials say a credit application can be analysed and approved in just a few minutes. If the loan is approved, the contract is printed out right away. ZF