BPCE - 2019 Universal Registration Document

NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPORT

PUTTING OUR COOPERATIVE IDENTITY TO WORK FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Putting our cooperative identity to work 2.1 for regional development

2.1.1

Drawing on our business model to create sustainable, robust value

OUR MAIN ACTIVITIES Groupe BPCE conducts all banking and insurance businesses through its two main cooperative networks – Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne – and their subsidiaries. It is the second largest banking group in France and has a strong local presence. Its 105,000 employees serve 36 million customers, including 9 million cooperative shareholders, performing their duties with a constant eye on the needs of individuals and local areas. With 14 Banques Populaires, 15 Caisses d’Epargne, Natixis and Banque Palatine, Groupe BPCE offers its customers a full range of products and services, including deposits and savings, investments, cash management, payment instruments, and financing and insurance solutions. In keeping with its cooperative structure, the Group builds lasting relationships with its customers and helps them achieve their goals. It contributes to financing more than 20% of the French economy. For more information, please see Chapter 1 of this document. THE MAJOR CHALLENGES ARISING FROM THE ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE Since 2009, international climate change negotiations and European and French policies on energy transition have relied heavily on the role played by banks and investors to channel financing into initiatives to preserve the climate. New international standards are being prepared to structure and

harmonize financing for green growth, manage the financial risk inherent in climate change and provide a transparent framework for communication. At the COP 21 Climate Summit in 2015, Paris was the first financial center to announce its support for the scientific consensus on the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and to take steps to ensure the financial sector contributes to speeding up the transition to a low carbon economy. The European Commission’s Action Plan on Sustainable Finance revealed in 2018 set three priorities – information and transparency, risk management and long-term governance – which are included in the work of the three European supervisory authorities (ESAs). Our stakeholders – the European Commission, rating agencies, the regulatory authorities, NGOs, our investors, our customers and our cooperative shareholders – regularly ask what we are doing to tackle climate change and protect biodiversity. It is now clear that climate change and the loss of biodiversity will impact entire sectors of the economy. As a banker and insurer, Groupe BPCE is ready to meet these challenges and help its customers in the transition towards a more sustainable economy. Groupe BPCE’s capacity to meet its customers’ needs and create value is intrinsically linked to changes in its ecosystem, for example new regulations, environmental issues, societal and social changes, or the consequences of globalization.

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UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2019 | GROUPE BPCE

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