Solidarity savings top 34 billion: record growth, but still a tiny share of the total
The total value of solidarity savings reached 34 billion euros at the end of 2025, up 15% year-over-year—its strongest growth since 2021—according to the 24th edition of the FAIR and La Croix barometer. Behind this record figure lies a persistent paradox: despite creating 11,372 jobs and rehousing thousands of people, this “useful” form of savings still accounts for only 0.52% of the financial assets of the French population.
Eleven thousand three hundred seventy-two jobs created, more than two thousand people rehoused, nearly 74,000 people supplied with renewable electricity: this is what was funded in 2025 by a type of savings account that most French people are still unaware of. Solidarity savings—investments in which a portion of the funds goes toward projects with a social or environmental impact—has just had its best year in a long time.
According to the 24th edition of the barometer published by the FAIR association in collaboration with the daily newspaper La Croix, its total assets under management reached 34 billion euros as of December 31, 2025, up 15% year-over-year—the sharpest increase recorded since 2021.
Three factors account for this acceleration. First, strong net subscriptions, amounting to approximately 2.5 billion euros, a sign that new savers are taking the plunge. Second, favorable market conditions, contributing nearly 2 billion. Finally, the product offering has expanded, with the addition of €0.7 billion in new Finansol-certified products. This trend reflects the gradual mainstreaming of solidarity-based finance: now, virtually all major banking and insurance networks offer at least one certified product in their lineup.
Employee Savings Drive Growth; Banking Sector Hits Record High
Specifically, solidarity-based employee savings remain the sector’s flagship. With €18.5 billion, it alone accounts for 54% of total assets under management and grew by 13% over the year, driven by the 13.2 million employees with a company savings plan. This success is part of a broader trend: according to the French Association for Financial Management, total employee savings and corporate retirement plans are projected to reach 230 billion euros by the end of 2025. Solidarity-based savings are riding this wave by directing a portion of these funds toward impact investing.
Solidarity-based bank and insurance savings are keeping pace, and have even set a record. They rose by 19% in one year, to 14.2 billion euros, driven by the growing popularity of solidarity funds and savings accounts and by the success of MAIF’s responsible and solidarity-based life insurance policy, whose outstanding balances surged by 924 million euros. Solidarity savings accounts, meanwhile, reached 3.1 billion euros, attracting new savers thanks to higher interest rates amid a decline in regulated rates. Solidarity investment funds—including both collective investment schemes and unit-linked funds—neared 6 billion euros in assets under management, up 22% year-over-year, driven by sustained inflows and the introduction of new certified investment vehicles.
Finally, solidarity-based equity investment—that is, savings invested directly in social and solidarity economy enterprises—continues to grow, approaching 1.3 billion euros, with upfront tax benefits for investors.
A tangible impact, but still a marginal share
Then there’s the other side of the coin—the one that matters most to savers: what is this money used for? In 2025, 848 million euros in funding were mobilized for the social and solidarity economy, of which 67% went to social projects, 25% to the ecological transition, and 5% to international solidarity. Beyond jobs and housing, the sector reports having supported more than 1,800 projects, granted 28,447 social loans—mostly to women—and financed several thousand hectares of organic farming. Shared savings—a program in which savers donate a portion of their interest earnings to nonprofit organizations—generated 16 million euros in donations, a record for the second consecutive year. “Solidarity finance is undoubtedly a finance of solutions,” summarizes Patrick Sapy, CEO of FAIR.
Yet, despite these figures, solidarity-based savings remain a drop in the bucket compared to total savings in France. Its share of French households’ financial assets amounts to only 0.52 percent—admittedly up from 0.46 percent in 2024, but still negligible. In other words, for every 200 euros invested by households, only about one euro goes toward funding a social impact project. The potential for growth therefore remains immense, as financial institutions increasingly offer these products and savers discover that directing a portion of their money toward a worthy cause does not require sacrificing returns or taking a militant stance. Social finance has crossed a symbolic threshold; it now needs to move beyond the margins.
