Groupe Caisse d'Épargne

File:Caisse Epargne Rambouillet.jpg, with tribute to group The two main co-founders Delessert and La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt]]

The first French savings bank ({{langx|fr|Caisse d'Épargne}}) was created in Paris in 1818 by a group of financiers, social reformers and philanthropists that included Benjamin Delessert, Jean-Conrad Hottinguer, Joseph Marie de Gérando, Jacques Laffitte, the François Alexandre Frédéric, duc de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, James Mayer de Rothschild, and Vital Roux. Delessert and La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt were widely seen as the main promoters of the project. In subsequent years, Caisses d'Épargne were created in numerous French towns and cities on a decentralized basis, variously by initiative of Prefects, municipal councils, mounts of piety (traditional lending institutions overseen by the Catholic Church), and/or local religious (Catholic or Protestant) elites. Most of these were created in the northern half of the country, and overwhelmingly served urban rather than rural areas. As in other parts of Europe, the original aim to serve the lifelong financial needs of the lower classes were only partially met, and the client base of the Caisses d'Épargne including many members of the emerging and affluent middle classes, including women and children, albeit with significant geographical heterogeneity.

The Caisses d'Épargne were not fully-fledged banks, since they were not allowed to lend. Their legal status, under successive national savings banks laws starting in 1829, was of idiosyncratic private-sector establishments that were never associations nor commercial companies, governed by boards of co-opted volunteers. The deposits they collected were invested in government bonds. The Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, a financial arm of the French state, was involved in the management of the collected savings from 1837, and fully centralized it from 1895.{{citation |title=Flight-to-safety and the Credit Crunch: A new history of the banking crisis in France during the Great Depression |first1=Patrice|last1= Baubeau|first2= Eric|last2= Monnet|first3= Angelo |last3=Riva|first4=Stefano|last4= Ungaro |date=2018 |publisher=Banque de France |url=https://publications.banque-france.fr/sites/default/files/medias/documents/wp698.pdf }}{{rp|29}}

By 1881, there were 542 local Caisses d'Épargne in the country. That year, the French government decided create the Caisse Nationale d'Épargne (CNE), France's first postal savings system, which competed with the existing Caisses d'Épargne by leveraging France's post office network. From then on, the pre-existing Caisses d'Épargne were known as "ordinary" or "private" savings banks ({{langx|fr|Caisses ordinaires}} or {{lang|fr|caisses privées}}) to differentiate them from the state-owned CNE.{{citation |journal=Revue d'histoire du XIXe siècle |url=https://journals.openedition.org/rh19/681?lang=en |title=Histoire des Caisses d'épargne en France. 1818-1881. Une étude sociale |author=Carole Christen-Lécuyer |year=2004 |issue=28| doi=10.4000/rh19.681 }}

In 1983, new legislation created a central financial entity or "national center", the {{lang|fr|Centre national des caisses d'épargne et de prévoyance}} (CENCEP). In 1992, CENCEP was replaced by the {{lang|fr|Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Épargne}} (CNCE), which unlike CENCEP was a licensed bank. In 1999, new legislation transformed the savings banks into cooperatives. These developments paved the way for the gradual transformation of the decentralized network of savings banks into an increasingly integrated universal banking group in the next decade.

In July 1999, CNCE acquired majority ownership of Crédit Foncier de France. Also in 1999, France's Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC) formed a commercial and investment banking subsidiary, CDC IXIS. In 2001, CNCE and CDC formed a joint venture, Eulia, to which CDC contributed CDC IXIS. In June 2004, CNCE took full control of Eulia and therefore also of CDC IXIS, which it renamed Ixis. Between 2003 and 2008 CNCE separately acquired the French subsidiary of Sanpaolo IMI, including the former {{ill|Banque Vernes|fr}} and French operations of the Banque Française Commerciale, and made it its private banking subsidiary under the new brand Banque Palatine adopted in June 2005.

In 2006 the two groups, Caisse d'Épargne and fellow mutual Groupe Banque Populaire, agreed to merge their commercial and investment banking subsidiaries, respectively Ixis and Natexis Banques Populaires. The new entity was given the name Natixis, a portmanteau of Natexis and Ixis. Natixis went through an initial public offering on {{date|2006/10/25}}, after which CNCE and BFBP each owned 35 percent of its equity capital, the rest being free float.

Natixis, however, soon suffered from poor capital allocation and risk management choices in the context of the Financial crisis of 2007–2008, including on investments into Bernie Madoff's funds. Key executives had to resign or were sacked: Nicolas Mérindol and {{ill|Charles Milhaud|fr}}, respectively CEO and chairman of CNCE, on {{date|2008/10/19}};{{cite web |website=Libération |title=A la Caisse d'épargne, des demi-démissions |date={{date|2008/10/19}} |author=AFP |url=https://www.liberation.fr/futurs/2008/10/19/a-la-caisse-d-epargne-des-demi-demissions_154119/}} {{ill|Bernard Comolet|fr}} and Bruno Mettling, respectively chairman of Natixis and CEO of BFBP, on {{date|2009/03/06}};{{cite web |website=BFM Bourse |author=CercleFinance.com |title=Natixis : F. Pérol nommé président du conseil de surveillance |date={{date|2009/03/06}} |url=https://www.tradingsat.com/natixis-FR0000120685/actualites/natixis-f-perol-nomme-president-du-conseil-de-surveillance-328250.html}} and {{ill|Dominique Ferrero|fr}}, CEO of Natexis, on {{date|2009/04/29}}.{{cite web |website=Les Echos |author=Laura Berny |date={{date|2009/04/30}} |title=Les têtes continuent de tomber dans les banques |url=https://www.lesechos.fr/2009/04/les-tetes-continuent-de-tomber-dans-les-banques-454951}}

In October 2008 Groupe Caisse d'épargne announced plans to merge with Groupe Banque Populaire, in response to recent consolidation in the banking industry. Press agency AFP linked the announcement directly to the ongoing financial crisis of 2007–2008. The companies intend however to retain their separate retail banking brands and branch networks. The merged entity would hold €480 billion in deposits and have over six million customers.

Groupe Caisse d'épargne completed its merger with the BFBP (Banque fédérale des banques populaires) in July 2009, and became BPCE, France's second-largest bank.{{cite web|url=http://www.bpce.fr/le-groupe/organisation/organe-central|title=BPCE Official corporate presentation|publisher=BPCE |access-date=2012-12-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116031146/http://www.bpce.fr/le-groupe/organisation/organe-central|archive-date=2012-11-16|url-status=dead}}

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.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

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%.{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jMkomSWmtSTqAg41NUs6ARodZSLg|title=French banks to merge in bid to weather storm|date=8 October 2008|work=Agence France Presse|accessdate=2008-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520180601/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jMkomSWmtSTqAg41NUs6ARodZSLg|archive-date=2011-05-20|url-status=dead}} 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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.global300.coop/sites/global300.coop/files/Global300List07.pdf|title=The 2007 Global 300 Listing|publisher=International Co-operative Alliance}}{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} It was the fourth French bank and the twenty-fifth bank in the world by total assets in 2008.{{cite news|url=http://www.bankersalmanac.com/addcon/infobank/wldrank.aspx|title=Top 50 Banks in the World|date=29 October 2008|work=Bankersalmanac.com|accessdate=2008-12-20}}

The company suffered a €751 million derivatives trading loss in October 2008, which it blamed partly on the high market volatility at the time.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7675574.stm|title=French bank admits trading loss|date=17 October 2008|work=BBC News|accessdate=2008-10-17}} The group of employees responsible for making the unauthorised trades was dismissed.{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/17/business/caisse.php|title=French lender uncovers €600 million loss on unauthorized trading|last=Saltmarsh|first=Matthew|date=17 October 2008|work=International Herald Tribune|accessdate=2008-10-17}}

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

The group is a sponsor of the French Handball Federation.

File:Caisse d'épargne Amiens.jpg|Caisse d'épargne, Amiens

File:Caisse d'épargne de Bordeaux ext.jpg|Caisse d'épargne, Bordeaux

File:Caisse d'Épargne de Chambéry (2018).JPG|Caisse d'épargne, Chambéry

File:Hôtel Caisse Épargne - Dijon (FR21) - 2022-04-16 - 1.jpg|Caisse d'épargne, Dijon

File:Agence Caisse Épargne Fontainebleau 2.jpg|Caisse d'épargne, Fontainebleau

File:Bâtiment Caisse Épargne Moulins Allier 4.jpg|Caisse d'épargne, Moulins

File:PA45000017 Hôtel de la caisse d'épargne (3).jpg|Caisse d'épargne, Orléans

File:P1200666 Paris Ier hotel Bullion rwk.jpg|{{ill|Hôtel Bullion|fr}}, seat of the Caisse d'Épargne de Paris from 1844

File:Hôtel de la Caisse d'épargne de Reims.jpg|Caisse d'épargne, Reims

File:Saint-Flour - Hôtel de Ville - Caisse d'Epargne - place d'Armes 17 bis (1-2016) P1040715cr.jpg|Caisse d'épargne, Saint-Flour

File:Agence Caisse Épargne Sens 2.jpg|Caisse d'épargne, Sens

File:9 Place Saint-Thomas Strasbourg 20200124 002.jpg|Caisse d'épargne, Strasbourg

File:Vesoul bâtiment de la Caisse d'Epargne.jpg|Caisse d'épargne, Vesoul

File:P1040384 Paris Ier rue des Capucines immeuble n°19 rwk.JPG|Former head office of Crédit Foncier at 19, rue des Capucines

File:Hôtel de Richepanse 001.JPG|Hotel de Richepanse at 3–5, rue Masseran, former head office of CENCEP, CNCE and Eulia

File:NatixisParis.JPG|Head office of Natixis in 2007, near the Gare de Lyon

File:Palatine rue anjou.jpg|Former seat of Schneider et Cie at 42, rue d'Anjou in Paris, since December 2007 head office of Banque Palatine

{{Reflist}}

{{Portal|Banks}}

{{Commons category|Groupe Caisse d'Epargne}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110128093020/http://www.caisse-epargne.fr/index.aspx Groupe Caisse d'épargne official site] {{in lang|fr}}
• [http://www.natixis.fr/ Natixis official site] {{in lang|fr}}
• [http://jban.fr/ Jban official site] {{in lang|fr}}

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Caisse d'Épargne

Category:Banks established in 1818

Category:French companies established in 1818

Category:BPCE