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AFG proposes the creation of a savings account to finance companies

Published on July 31, 2020 - 2 mins reading time
Bank watch
The Association Française de la Gestion Financière (AFG) is currently proposing a number of measures to the French Ministry of the Economy to help SMEs get through the economic and health crisis. Among them is a plan to create a new savings account dedicated to business financing.

Cedres, the passbook to help SMEs and ETIs

The Association Française de la Gestion Financière is adamant that the recovery and development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies (MSEs) in the current health and economic crisis must not rely solely on public debt.

The AFG is currently in talks with the Ministry of the Economy and Finance to propose various stimulus packages.

In particular, there is talk of removing the ceiling on the PEA (Plan d'Epargne en Actions), which allows anyone to acquire shares in European companies, in return for an income tax exemption subject to a number of conditions. At present, the investment ceiling for the classic PEA is 15,000 euros, while that for the PEA-PME, which is reserved for investments in small and medium-sized companies, is 225,000 euros.

AFG has also proposed the creation of a new savings account to finance companies. Called Cedres, this savings account would invest "a minimum of 50% in listed and unlisted European equities", said a source close to the matter quoted by AGEFI. This new savings account would offer the possibility of "strengthening the equity capital of companies with a long investment horizon, of around eight years, in return for attractive taxation on inheritance tax or capital gains, for example".

The Livret Cedres would not be managed by Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), but directly by the saver or by a management company.

Other initiatives for businesses

The overall business stimulus package will be unveiled this autumn by the Ministry of the Economy, which is facing an influx of proposals.

The banks would like to create a quasi-equity scheme, with institutional investors financing 15 to 20 billion euros of equity loans. Investment in 2,000 to 2,500 SMEs via a 6 billion euro quasi-equity envelope is another avenue proposed by private equity funds.

In April, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations announced the reactivation of the Novo range of investment funds to finance SMEs and ETIs.