Intermediate holdings will therefore disappear by July 2010

BPCE knows what he wants to do... and what it wants most to do. One year almost day to day after the announcement of his arrival at the head of Bank popular-Caisse d'Epargne, François Pérol yesterday developed the roadmap of the second French banking group for the next three years. It plans to quickly simplify the complex organization inherited from the difficult negotiations for reconciliation between "Blues" and "red" year past. It also provides free BPCE of guardianship of the State, the repayment of public aid to start this year to finish, at the latest, in 2013.

Intermediate holdings will therefore disappear by July 2010. All of the assets which had kept apart from the operation of reconciliation will be reassembled in the central organ. This will be particularly the case of Credit Foncier, the Palatine Bank or Meilleurtaux, Caisse d'Epargne-side; Foncia, VBI and MA Bank, on the side of Banque Populaire, which should add 966 million euros in the Recycle Bin to balance the parities. A single asset will remain outside this scheme: the 41 in Nexity, which will be held by the Caisses d'Epargne. A change of control could force the group to launch a takeover bid on the shares it did not.

Steps of emergency for sale

But now, BPCE clearly distinguishes the strategic activities, including including Credit Foncier, the society credit Marseillaise (MSC), the insurance business or subsidiaries abroad, activities managed as financial interests. Found in the latter category most of careers in real estate (excluding funding), Francois Perol drawing a line on the ambitions of the former leaders of the squirrel and the Banques Populaires in this area. Foncia property administrator and proponent Nexity, shares in house France comfort, Eurosic or broker Meilleurtaux have vocation to be surrendered, term, Coface or investment activities, today housed in Natixis. But the Group did not intend to rush to sell: "I'm not going to rush to say that I have to sell assets, would not be the best way to develop," said François Pérol, who adds that the "transfers of assets are not necessary in respect of the trajectory" financial.

Clear, the group feels able to achieve its goals of own funds (a ratio of Core Tier-1 by 8 by 2013) and repayment of the State by the generation of results and the levees of shares. The Government injected 7 billion euros of equity in BPCE, whose only 750 million have been returned today. Group's interest to accelerate the repayment, because the burden of interest could reach EUR 536 million this year and gradually increase the following years.

In its new strategic plan, BPCE is not objectives of result sets. Table on a growth of about 5 of its GDP per year to 25 billion euros in 2013. It also aims at this horizon a coefficient of 66 (down from 11 points), annual savings of EUR 1 billion and synergies of revenues $ 810 million between Natixis and two large networks. The road is straight, but the slope is strong, said a former Prime Minister.