Société centrale pour le financement de l'immobilier - Socfim products, services and reviews

About Société centrale pour le financement de l'immobilier - Socfim

Société centrale pour le financement de l’immobilier (Socfim) is a French real estate finance company focused on professional clients, including developers, property companies, institutional investors, and social-housing operators, with activity concentrated in France and most transactions backed by underlying real estate assets. It structures senior investment loans, development and construction facilities, bridge financing, and, where relevant, tailored lines for project phases such as land acquisition, forward-funding, or refurbishment; lending is typically secured, time-bound to project milestones, and subject to covenant frameworks tied to leasing, pre-sales, or cost-to-complete. Socfim operates as part of Groupe BPCE’s real estate financing perimeter and does not provide retail banking services; it works on a B2B basis via bilateral arrangements or club deals, with underwriting that can be retained or distributed within the group or to partners depending on transaction size and risk appetite. The risk profile is largely driven by the French commercial real estate cycle, exposure to development risk, counterparty concentration in mid-to-large sponsors, and geographic concentration in core markets such as Île-de-France; mitigants generally include first-ranking security packages, conservative loan-to-value and loan-to-cost thresholds, and staged drawdowns. Funding is primarily sourced through the parent group and market instruments as permitted by French regulations, and the company is supervised in France within the ACPR/ECB prudential framework applicable to its category; it publishes standard regulatory information and program documentation through the usual French market channels. Processes and documentation reflect French real estate and construction norms (urban planning, environmental and performance standards, and notarial requirements), with closing and monitoring procedures aligned to professional real estate practices. Socfim’s offering suits professional borrowers able to meet security, reporting, and covenant demands; it is not positioned for retail clients, day-to-day banking, or unsecured credit.