Deposits and financial guarantees: moving away from the banking mindset

Analyses

3 minutes

06 July 2026

For many companies, financial guarantees and securities are still a reflex: that of the bank. A reflex inherited from a logic of credit by signature, simple in appearance, but whose effects are often underestimated. 
Behind every bank guarantee lies a very concrete financial reality: a mobilization of credit lines. 
In other words, resources that will no longer be available to finance growth, absorb a shock, or seize an opportunity. In an era where balance sheet and cash flow management become a strategic lever, this approach deserves to be re-examined.

A direct impact on financing capacity

The use of the bank to issue guarantees has a major limitation: it consumes a scarce capacity. Each commitment reduces:

  • financial margins,
  • debt capacity,
  • and, ultimately, financial agility.

In some cases, these guarantees can even immobilize funds in escrow accounts or restrict access to new lines of credit. This model, adapted in a stable environment, is now showing its limitations in the face of increasing flexibility needs.

Assurance-crédit

Insurance: a path still underexploited

On the contrary, the insurance market offers a structuring alternative, still largely underutilized. Its main advantage: mobilizing insurance capacities without impacting banking lines.

Unlike the bank, insurance allows:

  • to access multiple specialized risk bearers,
  • to benefit from diversified financial capacities,
  • and above all, to preserve financing resources.

In practice, this amounts to dissociating two functions that the bank traditionally concentrates on: financing on one side, and guarantee on the other.

For CFOs, an issue of allocation rather than technique

The management of guarantees can no longer be addressed solely from an operational perspective. It now fully falls under financial strategy. Arbitrating between bank and insurance is arbitrating between:

  • resource consumption vs balance optimization,
  • dependence on a single actor vs market access,
  • rigidity vs flexibility.

In this context, integrating insurance into its system does not mean replacing the bank, but rather rebalancing sources of commitment.

Business

The key role of the broker: accessing and structuring the market.

However, it is necessary to be able to access this market effectively. This is precisely the role of the broker: to open up all available capacities and structure a response adapted to the challenges of the company. This approach brings three concrete benefits:

  1. Flexibility: solutions built based on risk profile, volumes, and operational constraints.
  2. Optimization: competition among actors to obtain the best conditions, both economically and in terms of capacity.
  3. Global vision: a coherent management of commitments, integrated into the company's financial strategy.
Dirigeant au travail

Towards a more balanced approach

Opposing banking and insurance doesn't make sense. The issue is elsewhere: better distributing the uses. Reserve banking lines for strategic needs. Mobilize insurance to carry some of the commitments. And thus, regain capacity, without giving up security. In an environment where every financing lever counts, this complementarity becomes a competitive advantage.

Give financial leeway

Financial guarantees and securities are not just a technical subject. They directly impact a company's ability to grow. Moving away from the banking reflex means:

  • preserve its resources,
  • diversify its partners,
  • and gain financial agility.

It is also a change of perspective: considering the guarantee not as a constraint, but as a lever for optimization.

For more information, please contact our expert:

  • Photo of Rémy Verlyck

    Rémy Verlyck

    Credit, Guarantee and Political Risks Account Manager