BPCE - 2020 Universal Registration Document

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PRESENTATION OF GROUPE BPCE

THE GROUP’S BUSINESS LINES

Health crisis: Groupe BPCE supports its customers in the long-term

In response to the health crisis, central banks, governmentsand international institutions took urgent measures to limit the impact of the economic crisis. The entire financial sector, and banks in particular, were actively involved in these crucial measures to protect the economic fabric. Groupe BPCE played its full part in managing this crisis. It went above and beyond the measures taken by the French government and undertook numerous support initiatives. The State-guaranteed loans and the deferral of loan maturities (see figures), an activity beyond the Group’s conventional scope. Nearly all branches were kept open: 90% during the first lockdown (between 85 and 95% depending on the region and the intensity of the epidemic) and 100% during the second one. Service continuity was ensured through remote banking and simplified everyday operations in particular , by sending bank cards and checkbooks to customers, by raising the contactless payment limit, and by accelerating the roll-out of electronic signatures. The Group is the first player in the financial sector to massively develop this solution. Complementary initiatives were implemented in favor of the most affected sectors or populations: the Caisses d’Epargne banks rolled out an extensive support plan for the public hospital sector with funding of €1 billion; Natixis Payments took measures to address the numerous requests for additional cash from hospitals, nursing homes and municipalities .

The Banques Populaires introduced the SOCAMA Relance Loan to support professionals by providing them with a cash financing solution; a system to support students and trainees was launched by the Banques Populaires and the Caisses d’Epargne. In the area of insurance , Natixis Assurances implemented several measures, such as covering the operating expenses of 4,000 professionals in the restaurant sector who are customers of the Banques Populaires, and suspending all formal notice and recovery procedures for SMEs and VSEs in difficulty, as well as retaining all personal risk and non-life insurance cover for professional customers of the Banques Populaires and the Caisses d’Epargne, even in the event of late payments. Support for the most financially vulnerable: customers receiving social benefits could make use of an unprecedented system enabling them to withdraw money from an automatic teller machine without a bank card, using an SMS or via their banking app. Solidarity initiatives across all regions were conducted by Group companies. Massive redistribution of masks when they were in short supply, financial donations, calls for solidarity to help the most vulnerable people, innovative operations offered on their collection platforms, support for individual operations at the initiative of employees, and more. Solidarity initiatives have taken many forms. Groupe BPCE continues to support all its customers – individuals, professionals, companies and public sector – and continues to work with public authorities to implement solutions adapted to everyone’s needs.

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UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2020 | GROUPE BPCE

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