The CNEP issues the National Defence Bonds

This Comptoir National d’Escompte de Paris (CNEP) poster, placed in the Paris agencies at 14 rue Bergère and 2 Place de l’Opéra, calls on their clientele to subscribe the “National Defence Notes.” These short-term loans, issued by the National Treasury starting in 1914, offered subscribers a limited remuneration and the government a few months of financing.

French banks provided decisive support to help fund the 1914-1918 war and the reconstruction efforts.
Faced with the exceptional financial needs related to the length of the conflict, the French government launched 4 major “National Defence loans” (1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918).
Meanwhile the banks mobilised their networks in order to harness the savings of the French people. Issued as perpetual bonds starting in 1915, these four National Defence loans were the most famous, promoted on posters featuring powerful patriotic allegories. These posters covered the facades of bank agencies during the war.