Since the entry into force of the law for economic initiative from 1 August 2003 and that of August 2, 2005 for SMEs, some provisions concerning the rate of wear have been altered.
Thus Article 32 of Law 2003-721, noted: “with regard to loans to businesses, this section repeals the crime of usury, while maintaining the display of incorrect percentage rate, and limited to the latter offense may seize the Advisory Committee on the rates of lending money, said commission to wear. ”
On the one hand, the consumer code prescribed a requirement to display the percentage rate and loan sharking prohibited.
On the other hand, the Monetary and Financial Code incorporated the definition of the percentage rate and the loan sharking without the sanction or civilly or criminally.
This lack of symmetry has attracted many divergent cases, for corporate loans, it was necessary to make some changes.
Now he has added a paragraph to Article 313-3 of the Consumer Code, following the publication of the article 32 of the Act of 1 August 2003 (Section I).
It is well said that under article 32 the provisions of the Consumer Code relating to the wear rates are no longer applicable “loans to a corporation, engaged in an industrial, commercial, artisanal, agricultural or occupation noncommercial. ”
Companies are therefore excluded from the provisions of the Consumer Code for wear.
The crime of usury is repealed, when credit concerns a legal person, including an association engaged in an occupation, as such activity is commercial or not and whether the corporation is private or public sector.
The nature of the loan does not affect the repeal of the offense, that the credit transaction is a traditional loan, a bank overdraft, a transaction discount or factoring.
The decriminalization of the offense of usury main objective of facilitating access to credit for certain businesses, including the news. Indeed, new firms have their bank lender for high risk, so they are often denied credit. The regulation of usury was to prevent a banker for a loan which, while guaranteeing a guideline it would be a satisfactory return.
Always following the publication of legislation on economic initiative of 2003, paragraph II of Article 32 is added to Article 313-4 of the Monetary and Financial Code, the reproduction section of the Consumer Code offense for which a fine of Corrections the failure to specify the percentage rate.
The crime of usury and not display the percentage rate are distinct.
The French law on the suppression of the wear is governed by the laws L.313-3 to L.313-6 of the Consumer Code.
In summary Article 32 of the Act for the economic initiative has removed the crime of usury to loans granted to legal persons engaged in industry, commercial …
Only remains the civil penalty for bank overdrafts which are made.
The Finance Act of August 2, 2005 for SMEs, in its Article 7, has also made a change, extending the suppression of crime to individuals acting on their professional needs. Alongside the civil penalty provided in the Monetary and Financial Code concerning overdraft granted to legal persons engaged in commercial activity is expanded to also include individuals acting on their professional needs.
The penalties that are applicable to consumer loans and mortgages are included in articles L.313-4 and L.313-5 of the Consumer Code.