Groupe Caisse d'Épargne

Groupe Caisse d'épargne

Type	Semi co-operative
Industry	Financial services
Founded	1818 (1818)
Headquarters	Paris, France
Key people	François Pérol
Products	Banking and insurance
Number of employees	52,000
Website	caisse-epargne.fr

Groupe Caisse d'épargne is a French semi-cooperative banking group, founded in 1818, with around 4700 branches in the country. The group is active in retail and private banking, as well as holding a significant stake in the publicly traded investment bank Natixis.

Operations

The group's most notable brand is the Caisse d'épargne network of mutual savings banks. Along with La Banque Postale and Crédit Mutuel, the bank shared the rights to offer the popular Livret A savings accounts, backed by the French government until January 1, 2009.

In addition, the group is also the owner of the mortgage bank Crédit Foncier, the corporate and private bank Banque Palatine and Financière Océor, a commercial, private asset management and specialist finance bank serving France's overseas departments.

In 2006 Groupe Caisse d'épargne merged its investment bank IXIS Corporate and Investment Bank with Groupe Banque Populaire's Natexis, creating Natixis, a publicly traded investment bank in which Caisse d'épargne and Groupe Banque Populaire currently hold an equal stake of 35.25%.^[1] Groupe Caisse d'épargne has also since merged its private wealth management bank La Compagnie 1818 into the Natixis group.

The group is listed in the 2007 ICA Global 300 list of mutuals and co-operatives, ranked 11th by 2005 turnover, making it the 2nd largest co-operative banking group in the world, after Crédit Agricole.^[2] It was the fourth French bank and the twenty-fifth bank in the world by total assets in 2008.^[3]

Trading loss

The company suffered a €751 million derivatives trading loss in October 2008,^[4] which it blamed partly on the high market volatility at the time.^[5] The group of employees responsible for making the unauthorised trades was dismissed.^[6]

Proposed merger

In October 2008 Groupe Caisse d'épargne announced plans to merge with fellow mutual Groupe Banque Populaire, in response to recent consolidation in the banking industry.^[1] Press agency AFP linked the announcement directly to the ongoing global liquidity crisis.^[1] The companies intend however to retain their separate retail banking brands and branch networks. If the merger is completed, the enlarged company,^[1] would hold €480 billion in deposits and have over six million customers.^[5]

Groupe Caisse d'épargne merges with the BFBP (Banque fédérale des banques populaires) in July 2009, and became BPCE, the France's second largest bank.^[7]

Sponsorship

The group was the title sponsor of a Spanish professional cycling team from 2006 to 2010, after which Movistar took over sponsorship.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Groupe Caisse d'Epargne.

• Groupe Caisse d'épargne official site (French)
• Natixis official site (French)

Members of Euro Banking Association
Austria	Allgemeine Sparkasse Oberosterreich Bank für Tirol und Vorarlberg AG BKS Bank AG Erste Group Bank AG Oberbank AG Oesterreichische Nationalbank Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich AG Raiffeisen-Landesbank Tirol AG Steiermärkische Bank und Sparkassen AG
Belgium	Dexia Bank NV KBC Bank NV Bank van De Post
Cyprus	Bank of Cyprus Hellenic Bank
Denmark	Amagerbanken A/S Arbejdernes Landsbank A/S Danske Andelskassers Bank A/S Danske Bank A/S DiBa Bank A/S Djurslands Bank A/S Jyske Bank A/S Nordjyske Bank A/S Nørresundby Bank Østjydsk Bank A/S Ringkøbing Landbobank Roskilde Bank A/S Skjern Bank Spar Nord Bank Sparekassen Sjælland Sydbank A/S Vestfyns Bank A/S Vestjysk Bank
Finland	Aktia Bank PLC Bank of Åland PLC Pohjola Bank PLC S-Bank LTD. Tapiola Bank LTD
France	Banque Michel Inchauspé - BAMI Banque Palatine BNP Paribas SA BPCE BRED Banque Populaire Crédit Agricole SA Crédit Coopératif Crédit du Nord Crédit Mutuel Arkéa Credit Mutuel CIC Banque HSBC France La Banque postale Natixis Société Générale
Germany	Berenberg Bank BHF Bank Bremer Landesbank Commerzbank AG Deutsche Bank AG Deutsche Bundesbank Deutsche Postbank DZ Bank AG Europe Arab Bank Frankfurt Hamburger Sparkasse AG J.P. Morgan Chase Bank AG Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Landesbank Berlin Holding Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Oldenburgische Landesbank SECB Swiss EURO CLEARING Bank GmbH The Bank of New York Mellon, Frankfurt Branch VTB Bank (Deutschland) AG
Greece	Alpha Bank SA Eurobank Ergasias SA National Bank of Greece SA Piraeus Bank SA
Hungary	Magyar Nemzeti Bank OTP Bank FHB Mortgage Bank Merkantil Bank Kereskedelmi és Hitelbank Magyar Takarékszövetkezeti Bank MKB Bank Porsche Bank Hungaria Kinizsi Bank MagNet Bank Hanwha Bank Budapest Hitel- és Fejlesztési Bank
Ireland	Allied Irish Banks Bank of Ireland
Italy	Banca Agricola Popolare di Ragusa Banca del Fucino Banca del Piemonte Banca delle Marche Banca di Imola Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Banca Popolare del Lazio Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna Banca Popolare di Milano Banca Popolare di Sondrio Banca Popolare di Vicenza Banca Sella Banca Tercas Banco Popolare Cassa di Risparmio della Provincia di Chieti Cassa di Risparmio di Cesena Cassa di Risparmio di Fermo Nuova Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara Cassa di Risparmio di Loreto Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna Credito Emiliano Credito Valtellinese ICCREA Banca Intesa Sanpaolo Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane Raiffeisen Landesbank Südtirol – Cassa Centrale Raiffeisen dell'Alto Adige Südtiroler Volksbank – Banca Popolare dell'Alto Adige UBI Banca UniCredit Veneto Banca
Luxembourg	Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État Banque Raiffeisen Banque Internationale à Luxembourg SA KBL European Private Bankers Société Générale Bank & Trust
Netherlands	ABN Amro Bank NV De Nederlandsche Bank ING Bank NV Rabobank Nederland
Poland	Bank BPH SA Narodowy Bank Polski
Portugal	Banco BPI SA Banco Comercial Português Crédito Agrícola Caixa Geral de Depósitos Novo Banco
Slovenia	Banka Slovenije
Spain	Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. Banco Popular Español, S.A. Banco Sabadell, S.A. Bankinter, S.A. Banco Santander, S.A. CaixaBank, S.A. (La Caixa) Catalunya Banc, S.A. (CatalunyaCaixa) Kutxabank, S.A. ABANCA Corporación Bancaria, S.A. (Abanca) Caja Laboral Popular, Cooperativa de Crédito (Caja Laboral) Banco Cooperativo Español, S.A. (Caja Rural) CECABANK, S.A.
Sweden	Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken Svenska Handelsbanken Swedbank AB Nordea Bank AB
United Kingdom	Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. Barclays Bank PLC Citibank NA DNB Bank (NOR) HSBC Bank PLC JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., London Branch Kookmin Bank International Ltd. Lloyds Bank PLC MashreqBank psc (UAE) Royal Bank of Scotland PLC UBS AG Wells Fargo Bank NA
Non-EU	Bank of China (CHN)