Credit Municipal de Nice

What Credit Municipal de Nice does

Crédit Municipal de Nice is a public municipal credit establishment (établissement public communal de crédit) headquartered in Nice, France, and owned by the Ville de Nice. Tracing its institutional lineage to 1891 with historical roots extending back to 1591, the institution provides pawnbroking services to individual retail borrowers under the French monetary and financial code, with regulatory oversight by the ACPR. It operates two physical branches serving Nice (headquarters) and Cannes, supported by a workforce of 11 to 50 employees, and is led by Director General Alexandre DELETTRE.

The institution's core activities comprise three business lines: pawn loans (prêts sur gages) secured against pledged personal property such as jewelry and gold; voluntary sales (ventes volontaires); and auction sales of unredeemed pledges conducted through auction partner Commissaires-Priseurs WETTERWALD et RANNOU-CASSEGRAIN. As of December 2024, the loan portfolio stood at €18.944 million supporting 8,626 active clients, with 7,741 new loans originated during the year at an average ticket size of €1,059. The reference gold loan rate was increased from €35 to €40 per gram effective February 2026, reflecting active collateral-based pricing.

Revenue is generated principally through interest charges on pawn loans (0.80% per month on loans up to €6,000 and 0.53% above that threshold), storage fees on pledged items (1% per semester), and commissions on voluntary and auction sales. The institution divested its banking activities in 2006 and has since operated exclusively as a specialized pawnbroker. With a small, geographically bounded retail customer base and a regulatory franchise tied to its municipal ownership, the business model is characterized by stable, distributed small-ticket lending rather than concentrated or growth-oriented activity.

Name

Credit Municipal de Nice

Legal name

Caisse de Crédit Municipal de Nice

Website

https://credit-municipal-nice.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1891

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Crédit Municipal de Nice is a public municipal pawnbroking institution in Nice, France, offering secured loans against pledged valuables, voluntary sales, and auction sales. It serves individual retail borrowers through two branches in Nice and Cannes under ACPR regulation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pawnbroking Services

NAICS

Nondepository Credit Intermediation (5222), Other Nondepository Credit Intermediation (52229)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Traditional Pawn Loans (Pawnbrokers) (FSAKALAA)

Keywords

• Pawnbroking services
• Secured pawn lending
• Gold-backed loans
• Public auction sales
• Municipal credit institution

Headquarters

HQ city

Nice

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Interest on Pawn Loans: Monthly interest charged on pawn loans based on loan amount tiers. Loans up to €150 are interest-free, loans up to €6,000 bear 0.80% monthly interest, and loans above €6,000 bear 0.53% monthly interest.
2. Storage/Guarantee Fees: Semiannual storage fees charged for custody of pledged items, at 1% per semester.
3. Auction Revenue from Sale of Unredeemed Pledged Items: When customers fail to redeem their pledged items, the organization sells them at public auctions. Revenue comes from auction fees (5% of the sale price) and the surplus from higher sale prices above the loan balance (boni) is returned to customers.
4. Administrative and Processing Fees: Various administrative fees including opposition fees (€7), letter fees for notices (€1), contract duplicate fees (€7), sale withdrawal fees (€15), and late payment penalties.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Crédit Municipal de Nice provides secured pawn loans (prêt sur gage) against personal valuables such as jewelry, gold, and other movables, allowing individuals to obtain cash quickly with no credit check. When pledges are not redeemed, the institution sells the items through its own public auction sales (ventes aux enchères) and, separately, operates voluntary consignment sales (ventes volontaires) on behalf of clients.

Product overview

Crédit Municipal de Nice operates as a traditional municipal pawn shop and social credit institution offering pawn loans against pledged valuables (primarily gold jewelry, watches, and precious objects). The institution operates a two-part model: (1) Prêt sur Gage - immediate cash loans using valuables as collateral with renewable 6-month contracts, and (2) Vente aux Enchères - monthly public auctions of defaulted items, supplemented by voluntary sale services for high-value objects. The institution derives revenue from interest on loans (0.80% monthly for amounts up to €6,000) and auction fees. As of December 2024, the pawn loan portfolio stood at €18.944 million across 8,626 clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prêt sur Gage (Pawn Loan)

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.23% portfolio growth year-over-year
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ACPR (Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution)coreOthersRegulatory oversight authority that grants and monitors the organization's banking and financial services license. The Crédit Municipal de Nice is regulated under articles L.514-1 and following of the Monetary and Financial Code and is approved by ACPR located at 4 place de Budapest, CS 92459, 75436 Paris Cedex 09.
• Commissaires-Priseurs WETTERWALD et RANNOU-CASSEGRAINcoreOthersOfficial auctioneers who conduct the monthly public auctions of unredeemed pledged items. Auctions are held at 43 rue Gioffredo, Nice on Wednesdays at 13:30.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Crédit Municipal de Nantes: Nantes municipal pawn lending institution under the same Crédit Municipal national framework. Comparable by product, regulation, and customer profile.
• Crédit Municipal de Paris: Paris branch of France's municipal credit establishment network; operates the same ACPR-regulated pawn loan model under articles L.514-1 of the Monetary and Financial Code, serving a comparable customer base with the same prêt sur gage product.
• Crédit Municipal de Lyon: Lyon-based municipal credit institution offering the same prêt sur gage service under identical ACPR oversight. Direct functional peer in terms of products, customer segments, and revenue model.
• Crédit Municipal de Bordeaux: Bordeaux municipal credit institution providing identical pawn loan services under the same legal and regulatory framework. Another directly comparable establishment within the French Crédit Municipal network.
• Crédit Municipal de Marseille: Another French municipal credit institution offering identical pawn loan and auction services in southern France. Comparable in scale, regulatory regime, and product set, though serving a different regional catchment.

Broad incumbents

• FirstCash Holdings: Major international pawn and consumer finance operator across the US and Latin America. Directly comparable in core pawn lending and second-hand retail but operates at vastly greater scale.
• EZCORP: Large US-listed pawnbroking and consumer finance operator offering pawn loans, gold buying, and pre-owned retail. Comparable core business model with much broader geographic and product scale.

Regional players

• H&T Pawnbrokers: UK-based publicly listed pawnbroker offering similar collateral-based personal lending and retail of second-hand goods. Comparable business model and product structure, though operating in a different regulatory jurisdiction.

Others

• Banque de France: While not a direct competitor, Banque de France oversees monetary policy and credit conditions that influence the broader French pawn and consumer lending environment, and is the parent regulatory body of the ACPR that supervises Crédit Municipal de Nice.

Emerging players

• OR.FR (Gold Avenue): Online European platform for buying and selling investment gold, partially overlapping with Crédit Municipal de Nice's gold-backed lending and voluntary sale activities but serving investors rather than pledgers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/creditmunicipaldenice
• Facebookfacebook.com/creditmunicipalnice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caisse-de-credit-municipal-de-nice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Credit Municipal de Nice