Two French banks begin offering EU-guaranteed loans to Master's students going to or coming from France.

The two banks, Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne, are now offering loans both to French students who want to take a Master's degree in one of the 32 Erasmus+ Programme countries, as well as students from Programme countries who want to study in France.

"I am very pleased that in the run-up to the new academic year, the Erasmus+ Master loans scheme will give even more students the possibility to reap the benefits of studying for their Master's in another country." Tibor Navracsics, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport

The scheme offers several benefits to students, including:
◾waivers for collateral
◾interest rates below market rates
◾a delay on repayments until one year after the completion of studies
◾no restrictions on the field of studies

Students can take out loans of up to €12,000 for a one-year degree, or €18,000 for a two-year degree.

Thanks to the EU guarantee, the two banks have made a total of €60 million available in loans which, along with the loans available through Spain's MicroBank, bring the total available loans to €90 million for the 2016-17 academic year.