Deposit guarantee: about 350 institutions covered
All banks and credit institutions operating in France are covered by the deposit guarantee scheme. Membership in this scheme is a prerequisite for conducting their business in France.
→ Search for your bank among the institutions covered [3]
→ Learn more about the categories of institutions covered [1]
→ Download the descriptive brochure of the FGDR's guarantees [4]
→ View the list of accounts covered and not covered by the FGDR [5]
€100,000 guaranteed per customer and per institution, within a 7-day time limit
All deposits covered by the guarantee are added up to determine the amount which the bank owes its customer. The FGDR pays compensation in this amount, up to €100,000 per person, per institution, within seven working days.
Moreover, all sums deposited in savings accounts guaranteed by the French government (Livret type 'A' savings account and Livret Bleu savings account, Livret Développement Durable (LDD) savings account and Livret d’Epargne Populaire (LEP) savings account) are covered, up to €100,000 per customer, per institution.. The FGDR compensates customers at the request of and for the French Government.
A deposit guarantee scheme that benefits all bank customers
As a general rule, all bank customers are covered by the deposit guarantee including:
- natural persons whether minors, adults under guardianship or represented by a third party;
- companies (limited companies (SA), limited liability companies (SARL), one-person limited liability companies (EURL), ... of any size, regardless of their status;
- associations and other professional groups, non-trading partnerships, foundations and groups of any kind;
- public institutions, local governments and their own institutions.
The scope of this coverage is designed to strengthen the public’s confidence in the banking system to the greatest extent possible. This is consistent with the goal of preserving financial stability.
However, the laws and regulations provide for certain exceptions and special cases.
A guarantee that covers all bank deposits
→ To view the list of accounts covered and not covered by the FGDR, click here [8].
All amounts deposited at a bank in current accounts and savings accounts are covered by the deposit guarantee scheme regardless of the currency in which the accounts are denominated.
This applies regardless of the contractual or commercial name of the current or savings account into which the deposit is made:
- current account, demand account, savings passbook account, term account, savings passbook account and plan, Compte d’Epargne-Logement (CEL) savings account, Plan d’Epargne-Logement (PEL) savings plan, Plan d’Epargne Populaire (PEP) savings plan;
- Livret Jeune savings account;
- cash account associated with an equity savings scheme (PEA), a pension savings scheme (PER) or equivalent held at an FGDR affiliated institution;
- bank cheque issued and not cashed;
- current or savings accounts that may combine various products from the above list;
- deposits given as collateral, such as to guarantee loan or financial market transactions, once they have become payable, i.e. when the transaction covered by the deposit has been settled (since the guarantee deposit is no longer applicable, it must be returned to the customer);
- total net balance of factoring transactions.
In addition, all amounts deposited in savings accounts guaranteed by the French government are covered up to an amount of €100,000 per customer, per institution:
- Livret type 'A' savings account (and Livret type 'Bleu' savings account);
- Livret Développement Durable (LDDS) savings account; and
- Livret d’Epargne Populaire (LEP) savings account.
The FGDR compensates customers on behalf of the French government.
How is compensation paid on a business owner's business accounts?
Individual business owners (craftsmen, merchants, self-employed professionals, etc.) sometimes use bank accounts for business purposes which are separate from their personal accounts [15].
- If a business owner conducts business through a separate legal entity [16], such as a one-person limited company (EURL), or under the status of a limited liability individual business owner (EIRL), a second €100,000 ceiling is made available to compensate his/her personal accounts and a guarantee of up to €100,000 to compensate his/her business accounts [17].
Otherwise, a single coverage level of €100,000 applies for all the business owner's personal and business accounts.
How does the deposit guarantee work for a joint-tenants account?
Each co-holder of a joint-tenants account (or joint account) is eligible individually for a coverage level of €100,000.
Unless otherwise specified in the account agreement, a joint account [18] is shared equally amount the co-account holders.
The compensation paid to each joint holder is the sum of the amount of his/her personal deposit accounts and his/her portion of the joint account, up to a total of €100,000 per customer.
Example:
Person A has a personal account with a credit balance of €5,000 and person B has a personal account with a credit balance of €9,000. Together they have a joint account with a credit balance of €3,000.
- Compensation amount for which person A is eligible: €5,000 + one half of €3,000 = €6,500;
- Compensation amount for which person B is eligible: €9,000 + one half of €3,000 = €10,500.
The name of a joint account generally includes the words "Person A or Person B" and the account can be opened for more than two people.
Information notice describing compensation under the deposit guarantee scheme
The compensation procedure under the deposit guarantee scheme is described in a 4-page Information Notice.
This notice can be printed in double-sided A3 format. It is available from the FGDR upon request.