Paris-based banking services provider La Banque Postale announced the launch of a new ESG-focused approach to its financial savings products, aimed at enabling customers to select savings products according to their sustainability criteria and preferences.
The new ESG approach covers the entire scope of La Banque Postale’s financial savings products, which spans areas including ordinary securities accounts, life insurance, and Share Savings Plans from across the group’s business units which include CNP Assurances, LPB AM, and Louvre Banque Privée. The bank added that extra- financial factors are now central to the advisory approach of its relationship managers, beyond their regulatory duties on risk and sustainability disclosures.
Stéphane Dedeyan, Chairman of the Management Board of La Banque Postale, said:
“Beyond our strong commitments to biodiversity and the decarbonization of our operations, we want to help our clients take part in the transition through accessible and educational products. With this new segmentation of our financial savings offer, we are reaffirming our leadership in responsible finance by helping our customers direct their investments towards ESG-aligned options. This is a significant step forward for our bank and for our customers.”
Under the new approach, La Banque Postale will offer its ESG-based financial savings products in a three-tier structure, designed to allow customers to engage based on their level of ESG interest.
The first tier will be focused on managing ESG risk by screening out companies deemed incompatible with environmental protection, respect for social and human rights and good governance, such as those with activities linked to tobacco, chemical and biological weapons, and activities at risk of deforestation or linked to violations of fundamental ethical standards, as well as fossil fuel companies with the worst environmental impacts.
The second tier will select companies with the best ESG practices in terms of environmental protection, respect for social and human rights and governance, while excluding companies that are least involved, such as fossil fuel companies that fail to show a commitment to the energy transition and continue to develop new fossil fuel projects.
The third tier will focus on the most impact-driven investment solutions, by selecting assets that contribute to ESG-focused areas such as protecting the environment, from biodiversity to social inclusion, such as companies linked to key sectors of the just transition, essential services such as access to health, education and water, circular economy, protection of biodiversity and regional development.
Sarah Bouquerel, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of La Banque Postale retail bank and Director of the LBP Business Unit at CNP Assurances, said:
“We have designed this new segmentation of our financial savings to meet the expectations of our customers, who want to invest responsibly and transparently. By offering them products that are in line with their values, we enable them to contribute to the ecological and social transition of the territories, in addition to the financial performance of their investments.”
