The 14 Banques Populaires and 15 Caisses d’Epargne, owned by their 9 million cooperative shareholders, are fully-fledged banks present throughout France. They are the joint and equal holders of the entire share capital of BPCE, the central institution responsible for defining the policy and strategic orientations of the Group, for coordinating the commercial policies of each of the retail banking networks, and for ensuring the liquidity and solvency of Groupe BPCE as a whole.
Prominent individuals representative of their regional economies are members of the Banque Populaire Boards of Directors and of the Caisse d’Epargne Steering & Supervisory Boards, thereby ensuring that the banks’ resources are allocated first and foremost to satisfying local needs and the needs of regional customers.
The Group’s Supervisory Board is comprised of seven members representing the Banques Populaires, seven representatives of the Caisses d’Epargne, three independent members, two employee representatives, and six non-voting directors. This membership provides the Group with a well-balanced corporate governance structure closely aligned with the concerns of its local customers and of French society at large.
The Supervisory Board approves the policy and strategic guidelines of Groupe BPCE (including those relating to climate risk) and the policy and strategic guidelines of each of the Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne retail banking networks. Responsibility for implementing these guidelines is entrusted to the Chairman of the Management Board, who is appointed by the Supervisory Board, and the Executive Management Committee, which also includes the five members of the Management Board.