CRÉSUS was founded 35 years ago in Alsace-Moselle under the name SOS Surendettement. Its primary and unchanged mission has been to welcome households and entrepreneurs facing difficulties, helping them find solutions and manage their budgets.
Since 2003, CRÉSUS has gradually expanded across France. Today, it comprises 27 associations and 500 volunteers who meet 23,000 new households each year at 200 support points.
In 2008, the federation established the CRÉSUS Foundation, tasked with preventing over-indebtedness through several action areas. On one hand, it proposes that companies, banks, financial institutions, and insurers guide individuals facing difficulties rather than cutting off their resources. The banker, insurer, or employer schedules an appointment with a platform run by bankers trained in social action for their employee, client, or member.
“We act as mediators with creditors to prevent over-indebtedness, having a tremendous impact,” says Jean-Louis Kiehl. “People who came in on the verge of divorce, separation, or suicide find their courage again.”
The second focus is financial education. Each year, 170,000 young people are trained to understand and create a budget. A second introductory program addresses entrepreneurship, while a third focuses on insurance, savings, and retirement preparation.
CRÉSUS has also created a tool called BGV, Budget Grande Vitesse, which allows users to calculate their budget in two minutes and connect to the 900 existing social aids to seek help in times of difficulty.
Another digital tool, the Coup de Pouce Emploi, enables job seekers to finance the purchase of a car with monthly repayments of €100. CRÉSUS provides a guarantee in case of defaults through the Social Cohesion Fund. “But believe me, on the microloans we provide, we have less than 2% defaults,” Jean-Louis Kiehl enthusiastically shares.
Finally, the federation is working on a tool that will allow, based on a bank statement, a real-time budget analysis and advice drawn from the experiences of the 500,000 beneficiaries already supported, which would enable scaling up.
"We give these households both the courage and the desire to fight. We restore their dignity, telling them that we can always resolve financial wounds. Ultimately, we enable them to become autonomous and no longer need to return to CRÉSUS, which is the goal: for CRÉSUS to disappear one day. If I had one word to characterize our action, I would say we are peacemakers,” concludes Jean-Louis Kiehl.
