BPCE - 2018 Registration document

2 NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPORT

A range of services to meet the challenges facing our customers

Crédit Coopératif, a long-standing player in financing renewable energy Crédit Coopératif has financed renewable energy projects across France for 13 years. It is mainly active in the solar and photovoltaic segments and hydroelectricity production, and has more recently extended its expertise to biogas and heating networks. Examples of its achievements in 2018 include: Crédit Coopératif structured and financed € 10.6 million in senior ● debt for the Aqua Bella project planned by Akuo, the leading independent renewable energy producer in France. The Aqua Bella project, which is located in Aiguebelle near Chambéry (Savoie), is a 2.2 MW hydroelectric power plant on the river Arc, which aims to produce nearly 15 GWh/year, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of around 5,000 homes; Crédit Coopératif has worked with TENERGIE group – an ● independent operator that is now France’s fifth largest solar electricity producer – since its creation. In 2018, Crédit Coopératif contributed € 9 million to the € 61 million co-financing deal arranged by UNIFERGIE for a greenfield portfolio of 52 solar power plants offering total capacity of 32.2 MW. It was also involved in financing € 10 million as part of a syndicate with Caisse d’Epargne Provence Alpes Corse for a major refinancing deal for 113 solar power plants which totaled € 175 million. PROVIDING ACCESS TO BANKING SERVICES FOR ALL In its new strategic plan, TEC 2020, Groupe BPCE has pledged to stepping up its inclusive finance policy, with a shared objective “to commit to our customers and regions”. This promise incorporates a broad, diverse vision of the themes it encompasses: customers facing financial hardship, preventing excessive debt, personal and professional microloans with support, and more generally any action that facilitates access to banking services for all our customers, including protected adults, disabled customers and those who experience difficulties (managing a budget, using digital tools, etc.). Helping financially vulnerable customers In 2018, Groupe BPCE continued implementing the AFECEI Charter for banking inclusion and the prevention of over-indebtedness in its banking networks. This charter applies to individuals holding a current account or receiving financial services provided by the Group’s entities, but not acting for professional reasons. For example, the Group has created an early-warning scoring system to identify customers exposed to a risk of over-indebtedness. Once identified, these customers are contacted to set up a diagnostic review of their financial situation and offer potential solutions. For customers experiencing financial hardship, the Banque Populaire banks and the Caisses d’Epargne have set up an action plan to ramp up distribution of the specific range of services for vulnerable customers. This range includes ten basic banking services for € 3 per month and a cap on fees for payment incidents. In 2018, 6,184 additional customer advisors received training to better understand this offer.

Caisse d’Epargne network: financial engineering expertise put to use for renewable energy All the Caisses d’Epargne offer financial engineering solutions. Its dense regional coverage means all aspects of financial engineering can be handled locally, for example private equity (investments by the Caisses d’Epargne in the capital of companies in their area), advisory (sale and transfer of businesses) and structured financing solutions (arrangement, syndication and deal management), in particular for renewable energy project financing. In structured financing, the Caisses d’Epargne cover different market segments: syndicated corporate loans, LBO/acquisition financing, asset financing (rolling stock, ships, long-term real estate, etc.) and project and infrastructure financing (renewable energy, public-private partnerships, etc.). With a total of € 2 billion in debt arranged, 30% of which for renewable energy projects, the Caisses d’Epargne are a major player in the energy transition. They are present across the whole of France and are able to handle financing or refinancing requests of all sizes and all types (solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal energy, etc.), either as individual projects or portfolios of several projects. Examples of their flagship achievements in 2018 include: Caisse d’Epargne Provence Alpes Corse arranged financing for ● Albioma group covering a portfolio of photovoltaic power projects in the Indian Ocean and issued credit facilities totaling € 110 million to enable the group to finance new projects in this region over the next 18 months; Caisse d’Epargne Loire-Centre arranged, financed and served as ● agent for the construction and operation of the Beauce Gâtinais Biogaz biogas power plant in Pithiviers, which directly supplies the GRDF electricity grid. Engie Biogaz is one of the main sponsors of this deal which was shared with Crédit Coopératif; Caisse d’Epargne Midi-Pyrénées, Caisse d’Epargne d’Auvergne et du ● Limousin, Caisse d’Epargne Loire Drôme Ardèche and Natixis arranged and financed the development by REDEN SOLAR of a portfolio of 12 solar power plants mostly installed on the roofs of horticultural greenhouses, with a total capacity of 16.7 MW. Total financing amounted to € 21 million; Hélia Conseil, a joint venture between Caisse d’Epargne Aquitaine ● Poitou-Charentes and Caisse d’Epargne Bretagne Pays de Loire, provided € 6 million in financing to Avento for 36 rooftop solar power plants installed on new or renovated farm buildings in the northern Aquitaine area. Grand Ouest Environnement: renewable energy at the heart of regional development The purpose of the Grand Ouest Environnement financial engineering entity (at Banque Populaire Grand Ouest) is to meet the needs of customers and the network of branches for oversight and expertise on all projects in the energy and environmental fields. The ambition is to create a profitable business generating consolidated NBI in excess of € 1 million. There are currently four employees working with the Credit division and with Grand Ouest Syndication to manage deals totaling over € 4 million in debt. Total outstandings come to more than € 150 million, mostly in solar PV power, but increasingly in the biogas sector as well. The structure has financed over 350 projects, including more than 250 deals in solar PV power.

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Registration document 2018

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