€1.2bn
This is the total amount of loans granted by BNP Paribas to 85 microfinance institutions since 1989, the date of its first partnership in Guinea. This amount was paid to 2.9 million indirect beneficiaries, 83% of whom are women, in 34 countries.
A first social bond structured on an ESG index
BNP Paribas issued its first social bond linked to the MSCI Eurozone Social Select 30 index, for an amount of €50m, structured by the Global Markets teams at Corporate & Institutional Banking and with BNP Paribas Cardif as an investor. The proceeds of this bond are used to finance or refinance projects that have a positive social impact on financial inclusion and access to employment, housing, education and healthcare. In addition, thanks to a donation mechanism integrated into the structuring of the bond, part of the amount invested reverts to associations supported by the Group that work for equal opportunities, social inclusion and humanitarian aid.
Acceleration of impact bonds
BNP Paribas structured and invested in several innovative impact bonds(1) in 2022. The Group signed its first impact bond in the Netherlands, whose objective is to improve the health of seniors and to prevent fatal falls by at least 2,500 elderly people through appropriate physical activity. BNP Paribas also structured the first impact bonds in France on the themes of disability and the circular economy. The first, with the association ”Comme les Autres” (Like the others), which supports people with spinal cord injuries to adapt to their disability and find employment. The second, with the cooperative society of collective interest (SCIC) “Envie Autonomie” (Desire for independence), aims to recycle and reuse technical medical aids to limit their environmental impact and, above all, make them accessible to the most vulnerable. With an average structuring amount of €3m per project, the change in scale of impact bonds is underway at BNP Paribas.
(1) An impact bond makes it possible to demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative solutions to meet social or environmental needs that are poorly covered, while generating savings for public authorities. The investor pre-finances the project and takes the risk of failure in exchange for a pre-negotiated compensation in the event of success. The State only reimburses and remunerates according to the level of the impact results achieved and actually generated by the project, and objectively measured by an independent appraiser.
BNP Paribas actively supports young people
For young people, BNP Paribas acts on all fronts. The Group is committed to promoting vocational training, by creating the “B-School by BNP Paribas” apprenticeship training centre. Its objective is to train, in collaboration with partner schools, several hundred students per year, particularly in the fields of commercial banking, with the possibility of joining Commercial & Personal Banking in France (CPBF) on permanent contracts at the end of their training. By 2026, “B-School by BNP Paribas” aims to take in 600 students in five cities throughout France, offering them seven degree courses.
Through its “Graduate Programmes”, the Group also offers skills development courses for young graduates in three areas: Tech & Transformation, Investment & Financing, and Transverse Businesses. In total, in 2022, the Group recruited more than 7,500 young people, including 2,500 work-study students.
In addition, CPBF renewed its loan scheme without a guarantor for scholarship students, which since 2021 has benefited more than 1,600 students, for a total of €15.5m in loans at the end of 2022.
For its part, BNL has two offers to promote the financial inclusion of young people: a mortgage to buy their first home and the Futuriamo loan, to finance their studies at a very advantageous rate.
Lastly, the Group, a committed player in philanthropy for 20 years, has stepped up its mobilisation on the subject by launching the “Ambition 1,000 mentors” programme, which aims to bring together more and more mentors within the Group.