They are riding the wave of real estate to attract new customers: Banks are opening their credit taps, at consistently low rates. They fell to just 1.05% on average in July, a new record. Jonathan Levy just took advantage of it. 1% rate, over 25 years, found by his broker. Thanks to this offer, he can buy an apartment larger than expected: a three-room apartment in the suburbs of Paris, which he can renovate.

The broker notes that competition between banks is getting fiercer. If they can withstand such efforts, it is also thanks to the negative rates of the European Central Bank, the European Central Bank. At -0.5%, it is not very profitable for the bank to invest its money there, so it is preferable to lend it to the French, even at a historically low rate. And if it earns almost nothing, the bank will still find its account in the long run. “The bank is not meant to lose money. On a mortgage, it is paid on margin, on bank accounts, on bank cards, mortgages have been used for years as a sensor for new customers.‘,” explains Mael Bernier, a Meilleurtaux spokesperson.