Profile

About Sfil

Sfil is a public development bank created on February 1, 2013, with the aim of guaranteeing stability in local public sector financing in France. Since May 2015, Sfil has refinanced major export credit agreements. Since September 2020, CDC is Sfil’s reference shareholder. Sfil is part of the large public funding sector.

Sfil is a 100% publicly-owned bank, having obtained approval from the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR).

Through its société de crédit foncier Caisse Française de Financement Local (Caffil), Sfil refinances medium and long-term loans offered by La Banque Postale to local governments and public hospitals. Its aim is to enable local governments and public hospitals to benefit from enhanced financing conditions thanks to a first-class rating and exceptional risk control.

To improve export competitiveness of companies established in France, a new mission has been entrusted to Sfil by the French state which consists in refinancing large export credits insured by Bpifrance Assurance Export.

Focus

Sfil is member of the EAPB (European Association of Public Banks)

The EAPB directly or indirectly represents more than 90 European financial institutions.

The members of the EAPB are public development banks that operate in sectors such as assistance to SMEs, financing innovation, public infrastructure and export credit, etc. They have different sizes and business models, but share some common features:

– Exclusively public ownership (which may be the State, a large region, the local public sector, etc.).

– Acting within the framework of a public mandate that specifies the public policy missions entrusted to the institution.

– No objectives in terms of maximising profits or market share, however their moderate profitability should be sufficient to ensure the sustainability of their business model.

 The EAPB’s role is to represent the interests of the public development banks and to explain their role and the specific features of their operation, particularly to European institutions, professional organisations and the general public. Furthermore, the association enables its members to exchange best practices and share information.