NATIXIS -2020 Universal Registration Document

OVERVIEW OF THE FISCAL YEAR Significant events for 2020

Interest rates 4.1.1.2 Against this backdrop, in the first half of 2020 , interest rates tumbled across the majority of developedcountries, startingwith the United States. By lowering of the Fed Funds rate from 1.75% to 0.25% (high end of the range) and proceedingwith massive liquidity injections, the central bank of the United States took long rates to their lowest ever level. The ten-year US Treasury yield fell from 1.80% to 0.60%. In Europe,bondyieldsweremorestableover the first-halfas a resultof the ECB not loweringits key interest rates. The ECBmanagedto avoid a massive widening of European sovereign spreads. Although they were volatile in March, they returned to their pre-crisleisvels in June. Even though the second half of the year was characterized by a bounce-back in economic activity, this did not lead to an increase in interest rates, particularly in the euro zone. In fact, French and German ten-year sovereign yields lost 22bp and 12bp respectively over the half-year, to end the financial year at -0.57% and -0.34% respectively. This downward trend, which is also reflected in peripheral debt, including Italy (-71 bps in the second half with an end-of-year level of 0.54%, a historic record), is mainly duteo: the sharp fall in inflation and associated expectations in the euro V zone; In the United States, the trend was different in the second half of the year. Indeed, the ten-year yields increased by almost 26 bps during the half-year, ending 2020 at around 0.90%. The victory of Joe Biden, the sharp uptrend in equity indices and inflation projections notably supported the rate hike observed across the Atlantic. 4.1.1.3 The limited change in the EUR/USD during the first half of the year (+0.1% to 1.1243 as of June 30) masked a large range with outermost points: 1.1522 on March 9; 1.0638 on March 23. The second half of the year was marked by a significant depreciationof the dollar. The proliferationof announcementsof effective COVID-19 vaccines, vaccination campaigns and, in particular, the announcement of a fiscal stimulus in the United States fueled an appetite for risk that affected the dollar. This weakness of the dollar led to an average appreciation of 9.5% for G10 currencies in the second half of the year, 8.8% for Latin American currenciesand 5.4% for Asian emerging currencies and 5.3% for emerging currencies in the EMEA region. Against this backdrop, the euro rose by 8.7% in the second half of the year, increasing from a half-year low on July 1 (1.1185) to a high on December 30 (1.231), thus closing the year with an appreciation of 8.9%. At the end of the year, the United Kingdom and the European Union reached an agreement that will constitute a framework for relations between the two partners as of January 1, 2021. After depreciating by 6.8% in the first half of the year against the euro, the pound sterling appreciated by 1.4% in the second half and closed 2020 at 0.8956 per euro. Regarding emerging currencies, the yuan strengthened by 8.3% against the dollar in the second half of the year and ended the year at its highest level for two and a half years. Forex the sharp increase in excess liquidity in the euro zone; V agreement in principle on the European stimulus plan. V

Equity 4.1.1.4 In the first quarter of 2020, a selling movement of unprecedented magnitude was triggered by the spread of the health crisis. The maximumcumulative loss over the first quarter betweenFebruary 19 and March 23 was 34% for the S&P 500 and 38% for the SXXP (Eurostoxx 600).Actual and implied volatilities reached record levels. In the sectors, those hardest hit were the cyclicals, particularly the travel/leisure sectors, as well as oil stocks which were affected by the fall in the oil price, while the defensive sectors (food, pharmaceuticals and technology) outperformed. The main stock market indices rallied hard in the second quarter, with a hope of an economic bounce back and massive actions by governments and central banks, posting record highs for over 20 years. In the second quarter of 2020, the main stock market indices recorded significant increases with an increase in the S&P 500of 20% (the best since 1998), the Dow Jones +20% (the best since 1987) and the Nasdaq +31%, while Europe saw an increase of 16% for the Eurostoxx 50. Thus, the first half of 2020 will have been marked by an evolution of the US indices down by 4% for the S&P 500 and a Nasdaq showing exceptional performance of +16% driven by technology equities, while European indices were in difficulty, with performance of -13% to -14% for the Eurostoxx 50 and the EuroStoxx 600. In the third quarter, equities overall rose with an MSCI World USD up 7.9%. Gains were recorded in July and especially in August, while the market remained supported by the reopening of economies. Lastly, the equity indices rose sharply in the last quarter of the year, with the US elections as supporting factors – suggesting a scenario deemed optimal of a Biden victory and a Republican Senate – and especially the announcement of effective COVID-19 vaccines. The MSCI World $ thus rose by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, closing the year at +16.2% compared to December 31, 2019. Ultimately, although US equities rose sharply in 2020 (+16% for the S&P 500), the improvement that began in the second quarter did not offset the fall in the first quarter in Europe and the CAC40 ended the year down by 7% year-on-year, for a Eurostoxx 50 index down by 5% year-on-year.

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NATIXIS UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2020