BPCE - 2018 Registration document

4 ACTIVITIES AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION 2018 Significant events of 2018

for SMEs, Groupe BPCE entered into a new guarantee agreement ● with the European Investment Fund (EIF), a subsidiary of the European Investment Bank Group, with a budget of € 500 million earmarked for the Banque Populaire banks and € 200 million for the Caisses d’Epargne. Groupe BPCE made a commitment to all Banque Populaire, Caisse d’Epargne and Banque Palatine customers not to enact rate hikes (as from January 1, 2019) and to cap fees at € 25 per month for customers identified as vulnerable but not receiving the Vulnerable Customer Offer. For customers receiving the Vulnerable Customer Offer, the single cap on incident fees will be lowered to € 16.50/month. Additional regional bank mergers were conducted in 2018. Caisse d’Epargne Grand Est Europe was established from the merger of Caisse d’Epargne d’Alsace and Caisse d’Epargne Lorraine Champagne-Ardenne. With its registered office located in Strasbourg, the new Caisse d’Epargne serves the 10 departments of the Grand Est administrative region. With more than 3,000 employees, 436,000 cooperative shareholders and € 2.6 billion in shareholders’ equity, Caisse d’Epargne Grand Est Europe supports 1.7 million individual, professional and corporate customers, and contributes to the development of the regional economy. It has administrative sites in Metz, Reims, and Nancy. Natixis carried on implementing its New Dimension strategic plan aimed at developing high value-added solutions for its customers. Natixis Investment Managers (NIM) strengthened its multi-boutique operating model by: signing an agreement to purchase a 24.9% stake in US asset ● management company WCM Investment Management (WCM) and an exclusive long-term distribution agreement. WCM will maintain its independence in terms of operations and management, investment philosophy and culture, while benefiting from a robust international partnership; enhancing the private debt product range, with the acquisition of ● European credit specialist MV CREDIT, whose investment strategy targets funding for upper mid-cap companies. Like other affiliates, MV Credit will maintain control over its management, while enjoying the benefits of the Natixis Investment Managers international distribution platform. Natixis Investment Managers further expanded its private equity business with the launch of Flexstone Partners, a world-class private equity specialist combining three NIM subsidiaries (Euro-PE, Caspian Private Equity and Eagle Asia) into a single entity in a bid to offer investors a dynamic and global approach to private equity. Natixis Asset Management, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, adopted the Ostrum Asset Management brand, refocusing on its longstanding expertise in bond strategies, targeted expertise in equity strategies and comprehensive expertise in insurance strategies. Natixis Wealth Management completed the first step in its business model simplification process in 2018, now focused on the wealth management segment. Implementing this strategy involved the following initiatives: a communication campaign to raise the profile of the new brand; ● the disposal of Sélection 1818; ● the acquisition of Masséna Partners (signing in progress); ● the acquisition of a 40% stake in Véga-IM. ●

in line with the goals of the strategic plan, the business lines of the ● Specialized Financial Services division (excluding Payments) further stepped up their relations with the BPCE networks and began a front-to-back overhaul of the customer experience. Reflecting robust sales momentum, new growth drivers were set up, including: for Natixis Lease and Natixis Financement, a Leasing solution - with a lease-to-buy option for individual customers, for Natixis Financement, a debt restructuring offer aimed at - internalizing Groupwide solutions used to reprofile customer debt, for Natixis Factor, an easy, commitment-free à la carte offer - providing professional customers with easier access to factoring solutions. With Natixis Payments, Groupe BPCE became the first banking group in France to offer instant payment services to its customers. Natixis Assurances was the first insurer in France to provide its customers with an unprecedented and exclusive instant claim settlement service: immediately after filing a claim, the insured party’s bank account is credited with the settlement amount. Caisse d’Epargne Ile-de-France and Spanish bank Caixa Banque exchanged an instant payment using the new TIPS (Target Instant Payment Settlement) service officially launched by the European Central Bank (ECB). Natixis purchased a majority stake (70% in Comitéo in April 2018). The purpose of the deal was to speed up the growth of Natixis in its payment activities, especially in the prepaid field. TransferWise, Natixis Payments and Groupe BPCE entered into a partnership allowing 15.1 million active individual customers of the Banque Populaire banks and Caisses d’Epargne to transfer money to more than 60 countries at the best exchange rate. The partnership will begin in early 2019 following a pilot phase. Lastly, Natixis became the sole shareholder of Titres Cadeaux (co-founded with La Banque Postale in 2006) by purchasing the 50% stake held by La Banque Postale, and of Dalenys by acquiring the 46% stake remaining after the takeover bid and squeeze-out. Natixis expanded its M&A Advisory operations by conducting strategic investments in Fenchurch Advisory Partners (UK), Vermilion Partners (China) and Clipperton (France), rounding out its previous acquisitions of Leonardo & Co France and 360 Corporate (renamed Natixis Partners and Natixis Partners España) in 2015, and of PJ Solomon (New York) in 2016. The Group stepped up its digitization initiatives to further drive the solid performance of its business lines. The 89C3 ecosystem, initiated in 2017, was expanded and now boasts 40 Digital Champions (whose role is to coordinate the digital transformation at each Group institution), 40 Chief Data Management Officers responsible for data governance at their institutions, six interconnected 89CE centers operating in sync with the institutions and their regional ecosystems, coordinated by dedicated employees. New digital services were launched throughout the year for Groupe BPCE customers, companies and employees: Secur’pass in Everyday Banking, a strong authentication solution for ● sensitive transactions (addition of beneficiaries, credit transfers, electronic signature);

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Registration document 2018