After the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the concept of the Corporate Funding Association has been tested informally by its initiators with some experienced corporate treasurers, chief financial officers and personalities involved in the financing of the economy. A few months of fine tuning later, and once it appeared that there could be some support by large corporate groups, informal discussions started with the French Treasury and the French banking authority in July 2009. A Senior Advisory Committee was set up in October 2009 and meets every other week.
Now the project has entered into a formal study and documentation phase, which is to last until the first quarter of 2011, for an incorporation of the bank during the second quarter.
Operations are expected to start during the second semester of 2011.