Groupe BPCE : Yves Toublanc is appointed Chairman of the BPCE Supervisory Board

Yves Toublanc is appointed Chairman of the BPCE Supervisory Board

Paris, 15 December 2011

On 15 December, the Supervisory Board appointed Yves Toublanc as Chairman of this entity as of 2 January 2012, to replace Philippe Dupont who remains a member of the Supervisory Board. Stève Gentili has been appointed Vice-Chairman.

These appointments follow the corporate governance rules set out during the creation of BPCE on 31 July 2009. The duration of the term of office of Yves Toublanc and Stève Gentili is two years.

Yves Toublanc, the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board stated: "We have worked collectively since the creation of  BPCE to establish the second largest banking group in France, to serve its customers and cooperative shareholders, and support economic development in the French regions.. In these tough economic times, we have reinforced our foundations with the continuous focus to improve the quality of our services to all of our customers - individuals, entrepreneurs, large companies and local authorities. We have been able to achieve this, in our capacity as a cooperative group, with the continuous support  and trust of our 8 million cooperative shareholders.. Following Phillipe Dupont, I am pleased to take on this responsibility and intend to contribute actively to the ongoing development of the group, to its historic networks, the Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne banks and their subsidiaries, notably Natixis, Crédit Foncier and Banque Palatine. I will devote all my energy with thoroughness and enthusiam, to go even further, in accordance with  our fundamental values ".

For Philippe Dupont, "This transfer of responsability takes place almost 30 months following the creation of BPCE, thirty months during which I have had the pleasure and the honour of taking part in establishing the second banking group in France, along with the commitment of its 117,000 employees. The work carried out has been particularly dense with the initial results achieved in a shorter timescale than planned. The synergies have been well established, in accordance with the personality and performance of our networks and our cooperative values. The serene nature of our corporate governance is an important advantage for the ongoing development of the group which still has large projects to accomplish regarding relations with our customers and our  cooperative shareholders. Our goverrnance is an unquestionable strong point of our brands, for the strengthening of Natixis, which is central to the group's business and for international development, based on the targeted priorities which will bring new wealth. I wish my successor, Yves Toublanc, with whom I have had the pleasure of working with since 2009 and whose human and professional qualities I have noted, the development of these good results".

Yves Toublanc, Chairman of the Steering and Supervisory Board of Caisse d'Epargne Rhône-Alpes
and, Vice-Chairman of the BPCE Supervisory Board

Yves Toublanc (65) became a member of the Steering and Supervisory Board (COS) of Caisse d'Epargne
des Alpes in 1993. In April 2003, he was appointed Chairman of this Board. In 2007, he became Chairman of the COS of the Caisse d'Epargne Rhône-Alpes, a savings bank created from the merger
between the Caisse d'Epargne Rhône-Alpes Lyon and the Caisse d'Epargne des Alpes.
Yves Toublanc began his career in 1972 in the Saint-Gobain group, holding positions of responsibility in
IT, management control and in the Finance Department. In 1982, he joined the Poliet Group where he
served for 12 years as Chairman of the Bollon Point P Company in Chambéry. In 1994, he took over
and managed companies active in the transformation of cardboard, which were sold in 2001.
He created - and has chaired since 2002 - Châtel Participations, a company specialising in the acquisition
of equity interests in industrial companies.

Philippe Dupont,  Chairman of the BPCE Supervisory Board.

Philippe Dupont, (60),  holds a Master's degree in Management and a Batchelor's degree in Economic Science from Université Paris-Dauphine. From summer 1981 to July 1999, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Max Dupont et Cie, a cereal and plant-based health product trading company. Philippe Dupont was appointed to the Board of Directors of BP ROP Banque Populaire in November 1983 and served as Chairman of the same Board between 1988 and 1999. He was elected to Groupe Banque Populaire's conseil syndical in 1991, before becoming its Vice-Chairman in 1995. In 1999, he became Chairman of Groupe Banque Populaire. In addition to his responsibilities as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Banque Populaire's central body, Banque Fédérale des Banques Populaires, from 1999, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Natexis Banque Populaire. He chaired the Board of Directors of Natexis Banque Populaire from November 2006 and was also Chairman of the Management Board of Natixis.