“My aunt” is a gesture in favour of the less well-off. To celebrate the centenary of his new name, Credit Municipal de Paris (CMP), the institution specialised in lending on the security decided to “liberate” the free goods of less than 100 euros handed in before the 31st of October. The operation takes place over three months, from early January to end of march.

in practical terms, a public institution with a social vocation will be free of charge all the estate to the property owners who obtained a loan on a pledge of less than € 100 before the 31st of October. Nearly 1,700 properties are concerned. The total cost of the project is 120,000 € with the load of the CMP, fully equity financed.

The successful recipients have received a mail by the end of the year to inform them of the good news. “As soon as the first week, nearly 300 people who came to recover their property,” says a spokesman of the CMP. “They were obviously thrilled”, adds the head of communications. “It is an ancient tradition for the institution of the centuries-old”, she adds.

the 1.4 million items stored in chests

In fact, the former Mont-de-piété has already undergone thirty operations comparable since its creation in 1637. The last dates back to 2012. It aimed to celebrate the 375 years of the oldest financial institution in paris. Originally, the monts-de-piété were institutions specialized in lending against collateral only, to avoid the interest rates abusive and then the structures have evolved. Since 1918, the institution conducts banking operations to be more traditional.

But the heart of the activity of the CMP remains the loan on pledge. It offers loans representing 50% to 60% of the estimated value of a property. Contracts are signed for one year renewable and the money is delivered immediately to the owner. To recover his property, he can then pay the amount borrowed and the interest.

In 2017, the structure consisted of 1.4 million objects are stored with an outstanding average of 1095 euros per object. These are mostly (95%) of the jewelry and still remain, on average, 27 months in the chests. Moreover, 9 out of 10 customers find their goods. The remaining objects are sold at auction. The CMP organizes twice a week, or about 80 per year.