NATIXIS - 2018 Registration document and annual financial report

RISK FACTORS, RISK MANAGEMENT AND PILLAR III Risk factors

An economic environment characterized by sustained low interest rates could adversely affect Natixis’ profitability and financial position Low interest rates may also negatively affect the profitability of Natixis’ insurance activities, as insurance affiliates may not be able to generate enough investment returns to cover amounts paid out on some of their insurance products. Furthermore, if market interest rates were to rise in the future, a portfolio featuring significant amounts of lower interest rate loans and fixed income securities would be expected to decline in value. Low interest rates may also adversely affect commissions charged by Natixis asset management affiliates on money market and other fixed income products. This could adversely affect the profitability and financial position of Natixis. If it fails to comply with applicable laws and regulations, Natixis could be exposed to heavy fines and other administrative and criminal sanctions likely to have a material adverse impact on its financial position, business and reputation Compliance risk is defined as the risk of a legal, administrative or disciplinary penalty, but also of financial loss or reputational damage, that results from a failure to comply with the legislative and regulatory provisions, codes of conduct and standards of good practice specific to banking and insurance activities, whether national or international. The banking and insurance sectors are subject to increased regulatory oversight, both in France and abroad. In recent years, there has been a particularly substantial increase in the volume of new regulations that introduced significant changes affecting both the financial markets and relationships between investment service providers and clients or investors (for example, MiFID II, PRIIPs, Insurance Distribution Directive, Market Abuse Regulation, Fourth Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Directive, Personal Data Protection Regulation, Benchmarks Regulation, etc.). These new regulations have major impacts on the company's business processes. Compliance risk could occur, for example, in the use of inappropriate means to promote and market the bank's products and services, inadequate management of potential conflicts of interest, the disclosure of confidential or privileged information, or failure to comply with new client due diligence procedures, in particular with respect to financial security (including anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing, compliance with embargoes, anti-fraud and corruption). At Natixis, the Compliance Department oversees the compliance risk prevention and mitigation system (see Section 3.2.8 of this registration document). Despite this system, Natixis remains exposed to the risk of fines or other significant sanctions by regulatory and supervisory authorities, as well as to civil or criminal legal proceedings that could have a material adverse impact on its financial position, business and reputation. NON-FINANCIAL RISKS

The legal risks to which Natixis is exposed in the normal course of business could adversely affect its business and financial position In the normal course of business, Natixis may be involved in certain legal civil, administrative, criminal or arbitration proceedings. The outcome of these disputes and their exact financial consequences are by nature difficult to predict. Thus, any corresponding provisions that Natixis may record in its financial statements could prove insufficient. Actions instituted against Natixis (including ongoing proceedings) could result in unfavorable arbitration or administrative decisions by the courts, leading to fines or penalties that could thus have a negative impact on its business and financial position. For a detailed description of the most significant ongoing disputes involving Natixis, please refer to Section 3.2.9 of this registration document. unidentified or inadequately anticipated operational or model risks likely to give rise to significant losses Natixis’ risk management policies and procedures may not be effective enough or may be completely ineffective in limiting its exposure to changing market environments or any type of current or potential risk, including operational risks or risks related to the models that Natixis uses. It may not have been able to identify or anticipate these risks in its Insurance, Asset & Wealth Management, Corporate & Investment Banking or Specialized Financial Services businesses. Natixis is in fact exposed to the risk of loss due to inadequate or failed internal processes, human resources and information systems or external events. Despite the controls and procedures in place, Natixis could be affected in terms of operational risk due, for example, to data entry errors, failures in collateral management, incorrect application of procedures, etc. These types of situations could generate significant compliance and control costs for the affected processes which could have an impact on Natixis’ financial position. Furthermore, some measurement metrics and tools, such as certain rating or VaR measurement models (as defined in Section 3.2.5.3 of this registration document) that Natixis uses to manage its risks are based on observed historical market behavior. To quantify its risk exposure, Natixis then conducts a primarily statistical analysis of these observations (see Section 3.2.5.4 of this registration document for a detailed description of the risk management framework). The measurement metrics and tools used may provide inaccurate conclusions on future risk exposures, mainly because of factors that Natixis has not anticipated or correctly assessed or taken into account in its statistical models, or because of unexpected and unprecedented market trends that could reduce its ability to manage its risks. Consequently, the losses borne by Natixis could prove far greater than those forecast based on historical averages. Moreover, Natixis’ quantitative models do not incorporate all risks. Certain risks are subject to a more qualitative analysis that could prove insufficient and thus expose Natixis to significant and unanticipated losses. Despite the risk management policies and procedures in place, Natixis may be exposed to

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Natixis Registration Document 2018