The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Crédit Foncier

CRÉDIT FONCIER, krā'dē' fôn'syā', in France and other continental countries, a mode of raising money on land, the peculiarity of which is that the advance must not exceed one-half of the value of the property pledged or hypothecated, and that the repayment of the loan is by an annuity, which includes the interest and part of the principal, terminable at a certain date. Several companies have been established by the government with the privilege of making loans. The movement was initiated by L. Wolowski and was accepted by government decree in 1852. Its name became the “Banque Foncière of Paris.” Similar institutions at Nevers and Marseilles were amalgamated into one under the title of “Crédit Foncier de France.” Consult Wolowski, L., ‘De la Mobilisation du Crédit foncier’ (in Revue Wolowski, Vol. X, p. 241, 1839); Josseau, Chonsky and Delanoy, ‘Des Institutions de crédit foncier et agricole dans les principaux Etats de l'Europe’ (1851); Girault, A., ‘Le Crédit foncier et ses privilèges’ (Paris 1889, in Buttetin de la Société de législation comparée, 1891, pp. 232-237).