Reconstruction and prosperity: "Les Trente Glorieuses"

1946 Compagnie bancaire

Jacques de Fouchier
(1911-1997), founder of
Compagnie Bancaire, and
chairman of Paribas from
1969 to 1978, then from
1981 to 1982.

Creation of Cetelem,
consumer credit for everyone.

Creation of first constituent company, UFEFE

Compagnie Bancaire Group: creation of Europe's first specialized financing group in the post-war period.

Jacques de Fouchier, a former senior official with the French Finance Ministry, founded the Union Financière d'Entreprises Françaises et Etrangères (UFEFE) on September of 1946. The firm's capital amounted to 10 million French francs.

The company was purposely created at a time when there was a shortage of foreign currency in order to provide businesses with short-term loans needed to finance the importing to France of raw materials used by exporting industries. These loans were repaid through use of the proceeds generated by the subsequent exports.

The launch of the Marshall Plan in 1949 to fund the rebuilding of Europe eliminated the need for the role played by UFEFE. The Union Française des Banques (UFB) was formed in 1950 through the merger of the UFEFE and the Banque Française d'Acceptation. The initial owners Worms, Crédit du Nord and Union des Mines were joined by Crédit Lyonnais, Société Générale, Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas, Banque de l'Indochine, and other shareholders.

A change in legislation the following year made it possible for the bank to consider specializing in capital goods financing. UFB gradually became an expert in financing for machine parts, construction and agricultural machinery, and even medical equipment.

UFB spawned the creation of four new companies:

Union de Crédit pour le Bâtiment (UCB), created in 1951 by construction industry companies and several banks (including Crédit Foncier de France) to help develop housing mortgages and introduce new financing techniques.
Crédit à l'Equipement des Ménages (CETELEM) in 1953, created to address growing demand for consumer goods, coupled with demand from household appliance makers for financing solutions.
Compagnie Française d'Epargne et de Crédit (CFEC), created in 1954 with the construction industry association (Fédération du Bâtiment) and insurance companies to facilitate long term real-estate loans.
Société d'Etudes et de Gestion des Centres d'Equipement (SEGECE), founded in 1956 with the Fédération Parisienne du Bâtiment and several banks to tap emerging opportunities in commercial real estate and urban distribution (shopping centers).

Four years after the merger with UFEFE and the creation of UFB, the new unit had developed an innovative, decentralized business model and was capitalized at 2 billion French francs.

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