lending ". even if it is exaggerated, this impression is not good for anyone : not for the banks or their image ; not for the housing sector, as it can discourage borrowers ; and not for the overall economic assessment. the excessive “ halo ” around housing loans no doubt prevents us from focusing on other necessary levers for action in the sector : the supply of land ; the proliferation of regulatory standards ; and overlapping tax incentives and subsidies of a complexity unrivalled elsewhere in europe. progress is being made around these different issues but i would like to examine two questions with you here this morning : • hcsf ( haut conseil de stabilite financiere - high council for financial stability ) standards are an easy and recurring target for criticism, but - do we need to say it again? - the hcsf was created not by the banque de france but by french national law, namely the 2013 banking law. over the last few years, it has unanimously achieved its mission of mitigating risk amid the continuing and exceptional increase in household indebtedness, and the marked deterioration in loan maturities and debt servicing costs. moreover, its standards are not restrictive these days as banks have the capacity to lend more thanks to all of the flexibilities provided by the hcsf's decision within the 20 % flexibility margin. the total flexibility of 20 % for the main criteria – debt service to income page 10 of 12 ratio and loan maturities ( currently set at 35 % and 25 years maximum, respectively ) – was only used up to 14. 3 % on average over q3 2023. more specifically, the 6 % flexibility on buy - to - let investments is only being used up to 2. 6 %. making greater use of these flexibility margins rather than challenging them is the best way for banks to lend more... provided of course that they maintain the volume of compliant loans : we will take care to ensure that longer, riskier loans do not replace safer loans. that said, as stated in its press release of 26 september 2023 iv, the hcsf will examine possible new technical adjustments provided they do not lead to an increased risk of overindebtedness. • the bank rejection rate should not increase for similar levels of risk. this rate is not measured in a precise manner, however there is a widespread impression that it has risen. but if we go back to the assessment i made in the first part of my speech

improving profitability in the insurance sector : as the duration of liabilities is longer than that of assets, this has a positive impact on the balance sheet and therefore on the solvency of insurers. as a result, the solvency capital requirement ( scr ) coverage ratio for insurance companies has risen from 247 % in q4 2022 to 255 % in q2 2023. looking further ahead, the rise in interest rates makes it possible to refocus portfolios on higher - yielding assets. this is also resulting in portfolio shifts by customers, with redemptions of life insurance policies totalling eur 62 billion page 4 of 12 over the first nine months of 2023 ( including eur 47 billion in non unit - linked contracts ). however, the ratio to premiums was relatively contained at 73 % in q3 2023, well below its record high of 100 % observed at the end of 2011. we are closely monitoring the slowdown in life insurance net inflows and reallocations to other savings products, insofar as these involve greater risk of capital loss and higher liquidity risk. another key point is that, despite the economic slowdown, banks'cost of risk has not increased significantly, and has even remained at a moderate level. the quality of assets remains high : the ratio of non - performing household loans has remained stable, while the ratio of non - performing business loans has increased slightly to close to 4 % at the end of june 2023. this stability is attributable inter alia to the high proportion of fixed rate loans in business loan books. the soundness of french banks in this area has been confirmed by the results of european stress tests published in late july. while we do not expect a widespread deterioration in the cost of risk in the short or medium term, we are carefully tracking borrower solvency. in particular, certain commercial real estate players have already been weakened by structural changes affecting their business segment and by their high level of debt, making them more vulnerable to higher financing costs. 1. 2 liquidity has generally been preserved page 5 of 12 major concerns had been voiced regarding liquidity, especially in the wake of the failures of silicon valley bank in the united states and credit suisse. eight months on, however, french banks are enjoying very stable levels of total deposits and liquidity coverage ratios that remain well above 100 %. so what we are seeing with the rise in interest rates is not a widespread'deposit