Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte’s government put a strict framework in place for long-term credits and mortgage loans and decided that they would be financed by issuing covered bonds or pledge bills.

In 1860, mortgage bonds were joined by communal bonds and CFF allocations were extended to include financing of local institutions and authorities. This new possibility, related to urban equipment and development work in the Second Empire, opened up a golden age for the CFF. Its increased strength in the local public sector was confirmed in the following decades with growth in local investment, especially with the school building scheme promoted by Jules Ferry.

Between 1890 and 1930, CFF was the leader in loans to local institutions and authorities; it was even ahead of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, which had been the traditional market leader. However, CFF was depending on a rise in rates for its refinancing and was unable to hold on to its position. Between the two wars, social housing schemes were of minor interest for CFF.

In order to promote the post war reconstruction, the State implemented an active housing policy with which CFF was closely associated. In 1950, the State provided building subsidies with construction allowances and lent its support to CFF borrowers. Income-linked housing benefits then came in 1963. Other schemes were also adopted later: personal housing subsidies (APL) in 1977 and subsidised loans in 1978. During this period, CFF distributed 75% of all State-subsidised loans. But from 1985, due to a reduction in the budget for these subsidies and the end of the credit framework, CFF entered a new era of diversifying its activities and repositioning itself in the market for local institutions and authorities. From 1991 onwards, the new competitive credits of the Crédit Foncier Group exceeded its subsidised loans in the real estate market.

The real estate crisis at the beginning of the 1990s and the property loan reform in 1995 had a serious impact on CFF’s evolution. The State withdrew the quasi-monopoly that it had held on distributing PAPs (subsidised property loans) and it created the zero rate loan that was marketed by all the banks. All this resulted in CFF losing money, so the State sought a rescuer. After two unsuccessful attempts, CFF had to restructure and refocus its business on its original sectors: real estate credits, savings and credit-related services, expertise, asset and equity management.

Having sold off some of its subsidiaries, Crédit Foncier de France was privatised in 1999 and the Groupe Caisse d'Epargne took it over. In 2001, the commercial business of CFF began to make headway and this led to good financial results. In 2002, CFF’s aim was to strengthen its position as a specialist and leader in the real estate sectors. In order to achieve this goal, it restructured its sectors in four central areas: credit for individual customers and professionals, refinancing and real estate services. It also undertook a general overhaul of its IT system and set up its Parisian teams in Paris at new headquarters, les Rives de Bercy, in Charenton.

At the beginning of 2004, CFF took over Entenial , second in the specialist real estate market, in order to consolidate its leading position. Entenial was the result of a merger between La Hénin bank and Comptoir des Entrepreneurs, founded in 1848.

In 2005, Entenial, A3C and Crédit Foncier Banque merged with Crédit Foncier de France. The new entity has acquired the status of a banking institution.