2018 Registration document and annual fi nancial report - BNP PARIBAS 521
7 A COMMITTED BANK: INFORMATION CONCERNING THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL,
CIVIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY OF BNP PARIBAS
7
Our economic responsibility: fi nancing the economy in an ethical manner
A marked increase in infl ows
BNP Paribas Wealth Management continued to roll out its SRI offering in particular by extending its sustainable product offering. In 2018, SRI assets reached EUR 13.5 billion, 2.5 times the amount of 2010.
In Belgium, efforts made to promote SRI by BNP Paribas Fortis are continuing to bear fruit. T he private bank of BNP Paribas Fortis obtained a 47.3% SRI market share amongst Belgian private banks (source: MIRA study Forum Ethibel 2017). SRI assets under management reached EUR 11.15 billion in 2018.
TAILORED ADVICE AND SUPPORT
Supporting female entrepreneurship:
274 million women worldwide manage their own company or are in the process of setting one up. In emerging countries, they play a major role in development. In Europe, only 6% of women become entrepreneurs, a rate 60% lower than for men.
The Group contributes through its entities to accelerate the growth of women-founded start-ups and SMEs, through for example :
■ the support from BNP Paribas Cardif in France, via the Generation #Startuppeuse club, to the programme that enables women entrepreneurs to use the help of experts (lawyers, mentors, developers etc.);
■ long-standing actions carried for women entrepreneurs by French Retail Banking with a budget of EUR 2 billion dedicated to supporting their projects in 2018;
■ the Women in Business programme, a partnership between BMCI and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which fi nances and supports Moroccan SMEs managed by women;
■ the EBRD Women in Business Loan developed by TEB in Turkey, a product sold to 6,000 women entrepreneurs with total outstandings of EUR 50 million;
■ or the launch in Italy in 2018 of Miss in Action , which, by mobilising different bank business lines (BNL, Cardif, Findomestic, International Financial Services), boosts innovative company projects founded by women.
Start-ups and innovative companies
BNP Paribas is developing an ecosystem designed to promote the development and support of innovative companies. This support, particularly active in its Domestic Markets, comprises:
■ 60 support hubs (the WAI, We are Innovation) in France, including a specialist Fintech hub, comprising employees dedicated to innovative enterprises;
■ 5 start-up houses, in Belgium, Turkey, Italy, Luxembourg and France, where the teams co-create on a daily basis with Fintech developers, digital operators and start-ups;
■ booster programmes putting start-ups into contact with BNP Paribas major clients (medium-sized suppliers (ETI) or large corporates) for 6 months of co-innovation (WAI Boost);
■ tailored products and services, particularly investments.
In total in 2018, over 493 start-ups have been supported by the BNP Paribas innovation hubs.
COMMITMENT 2: ETHICS OF THE HIGHEST STANDARD
The respect of the most rigorous ethical standards is a prerequisite at BNP Paribas. All Group employees are required to strictly respect all laws, rules and regulations in effect, as well as all professional standards that apply to their activities. In case of confl ict between the laws of a country and the ethical rules of the BNP Paribas Group, the Group s employees are required to respect local legislation while at the same time looking for ways to apply and respect internal ethical rules.
ETHICS OF THE HIGHEST STANDARD
Code of conduct
In May 2016, BNP Paribas published and distributed to all its employees its new C ode of conduct supplemented in 2018 by a more specific section on anti-corruption. It is accessible to everyone on the Group s website. Mandatory online training in the C ode of conduct was conducted in 2016, and has continued since that date for new hires.
The Responsible Business Principles
In 2018, BNP Paribas published a Responsible Business Principles Charter (which can be found on www.group.bnpparibas.com) stating its ambition to work with players that share the same environmental and social standards as the Group.
The Ethics Committee
The Ethics Committee, created in 2014, met three times in 2018.
Chaired by Jean-Marie Guéhenno, an international relations expert, it is made up of members of the Group Executive Committee and independent outside individuals. The role of the Ethics Committee is to advise the Executive Management in order to ensure that the Bank s activities are in line with the values of BNP Paribas and with the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and ethics. It is an advisory body.
