Bank counterparts / conditions
The set of commercial requirements the bank imposes in exchange for granting the loan at an attractive rate: salary domiciliation, account opening, home insurance subscription, savings placement, purchase of cooperative shares for mutual banks. The broker incorporates them into the overall offer comparison (rate, insurance, counterparts) and helps the client weigh the best rate against the least binding banking constraints.
Key points
- Typically include: salary domiciliation, account opening, home insurance subscription.
- Mutual banks may require purchase of cooperative shares.
- Their indirect cost can offset the benefit of a nominally lower rate.
- The broker factors them into the overall comparison to guide the client's choice.
Frequently asked questions
Are bank counterparts mandatory or negotiable?
They are not all legally mandatory, but refusing certain counterparts may lead the bank to revise its rate upward or withdraw its offer. In practice, salary domiciliation and account opening are often tied to the proposed rate, while other counterparts (savings placement, home insurance) are more negotiable, especially for high-income profiles.
How do you compare two offers where one has a better rate but more counterparts?
The broker quantifies the annual cost of counterparts (account fees, home insurance premium, sacrificed return on mandatory savings) and compares it to the annual gain generated by the rate difference. If the rate advantage is 0.1% on €250,000, it represents roughly €250 per year. If the counterparts cost more or create greater long-term constraints, the higher-rate offer may prove more advantageous overall.
What does salary domiciliation concretely imply for the borrower?
Salary domiciliation means the borrower must have their salary paid into the account opened at the lending bank throughout the loan term, or at least for a contractually defined period. This can complicate banking mobility and personal cash management. Since the Pacte Law, domiciliation can no longer be imposed permanently and unilaterally, but it may be the counterpart to a commercial benefit freely accepted.
In practice
One bank offers a 3.50% rate conditional on salary domiciliation, opening a current account at €7/month, and subscribing to home insurance at €25/month; a competing bank offers 3.65% with no counterparts, the broker calculates that the counterparts cost €384/year, exceeding the €375 gain from the rate difference, and recommends the unconstrained offer.
Official sources
- Obtaining a mortgage loan · Service-Public.gouv.fr
- Mortgage credit (official guide) · Service-Public.gouv.fr