BPCE_REGISTRATION_DOCUMENT_2017

6 SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIETAL INFORMATION A range of services to meet the challenges facing our customers

ANTICIPATING OPPORTUNITIES IN A RESILIENT ECONOMY

Caisses d’Epargne in the education,healthcareand social sectors. In July, the group issued a healthcare bond via a private placement with life insurance company Nippon Life, a Japanese leader in the field of socially responsible investment, aimed at refinancing loans granted in the healthcare sector. The private placement totaled $50 million (roughly € 44 million) with a 10-year maturity. The healthcare bond received an award (1) on September 7, 2017. Drawingon these three success stories, Groupe BPCE fully intends to move forward with its sustainable bond strategy on different markets, having set a goal of issuing two green or social bonds per year from now to 2020.

An ambitious green and social bond policy

After issuing its first green bond in December

2015 to finance

renewable energy projects, Groupe BPCE doubled down on its green bond activitywith two additionalissues in 2017. In June 2017, BPCE sold the first JPY-denominatedsocial bond on the Japanesemarket. This inaugural issue totaling JPY 58.1 billion (approximately € 470 million) is intended to refinance loans granted to the customers of Groupe BPCE’s Banque Populaire banks and regional

Participation in the FBF’sGreenSupporting Factor project Groupe BPCE actively contributedto the FBF’s work on the Green SupportingFactor (GSF), aimed at promotingthe funding of the energy transition by reducing capital requirements on green assets and using the freed-up capital to finance new projects. GSF-eligible counterparties include all economic operators financed through either retail bankingor corporate and investment bankinginstitutions. Creation of a European platform for natural capital investments On September 29, 2017, Mirova finalized the acquisition of a majority stake in Althelia Ecosphere, an asset management company specializing inimpact investing, with the goal of owing100% of its capital by 2022. The new entity, dubbedMirova-Althelia,has set its sights on becomingthe Europeanleader in natural capital investment.In a bid to ramp up the scale of such a promisingasset class, Mirova-Altheliaset a target of € 1 billion in AUM over five years. It will offer opportunitiesto institutionalinvestors keen on earning a return on their investmentwhile generating a positive ecological impact through solutions that meet the planet’stop environmentalpriorities: global warming and protection of land, biodiversity, soil and maritime r sources. Creatingthis platformaligns perfectlywith Mirova’sdevelopmentstrategy,based on the determinationto explore new areas of responsible investment, offer innovative solutionsto its customers,and workwith leadingexperts ineach field to achieve this aim.

company has establisheda CSR policy. The goal was to survey 70% of SMEs generating revenue of more than € 3 million that were customers of the banks on the panel. Banque Populaire Atlantique used the results to develop an offer to help SMEs implement a CSR policy: loans of up to € 20,000 for SME customerswishing to conduct an ● audit of their CSR performancewith a view to qualifying for the “CSR company” status defined by the bank; loans of up to € 7.5 million, backed by Bpifrance Financement,to ● implement the company’s CSR action plan. In May 2017, just two years after its launch, 65 companies had alreadybenefitedfrom the program,primarilyin the Loire-Atlantique region. Of course, Banque Populaire Atlantique does not limit its commercialCSR strategy to environmentalissues alone. PROVair, for example, offers credit facilities used to make builds more accessible for personswith disabilities, among other products.

Banque Populaire Atlantique’s CSR strategy for SMEs Banque Populaire Atlantique incorporated CSR in its 2012-2020 corporate developmentplan, basing this commitment on the LUCIE certification obtained in 2012, a CSR improvementapproach based in turn on the ISO 26000 standard. At the same time, Banque Populaire Atlantique began thinking of how to integrate CSR in its relationswith SMEs. As early as late-2012,the bank decidedto grant financingto customersinterestedin obtainingLUCIE certification,at an attractiveinterestrate. In 2013, Banque PopulaireAtlantiqueteamed up with other banking institutionsto find out more about the CSR approachesadopted by SMEs, under the aegis of the French Banking Federation. Banque Populaire Atlantique’s business customer advisors were trained to administer a questionnairedesigned to determine whether or not a

http://www.mtn-i.com/latest-news-asia-pacific/2017-award-winners (1)

552

Registration document 2017