Annual Report - BNP Paribas

Expanding microfi nance activities outside France
Building on its experience of microfi nance in France and
in a number of African countries since 1993, BNP Paribas
set up a groupwide Microfi nance business in 2006.
The medium-term aim of this initiative is to position the
Group as one of the world’s leading banks engaged in
microfinance, by supporting its development strategy in
emerging countries, particularly around the Mediterranean
basin.
The international microfi nance project is ahead of schedule
with its initial operating plan. A special team within
Asset Management Services works closely with some
100 employees throughout the Group from the Corporate
Investment Banking (CIB) and International Retail Services
(IRS) international networks.
The project focuses mainly on refi nancing, in local currency,
the microfi nance institutions in the areas where the
Bank operates. Within one year, BNP Paribas has partnered
22 microfi nance institutions in 11 countries, representing
EUR 76 million in total credit granted. The project has
been able to help more than 420,000 borrowers (78% of
whom are women), impacting the lives of two million people
when taking into account family members.
The countries involved in the project are Argentina, Brazil,
Egypt, Guinea Conakry, India, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico,
Morocco, Senegal and the Philippines. The agreement
signed in March 2007 with the French Development
Agency (AFD) to jointly support the microfi nance sector
was a major step forward for the project.
An original plan in Gabon
Banque Internationale pour
le Commerce et l’Industrie
du Gabon (BICIG) launched
an innovative product called
KIMI Crédit (kimi meaning
solidarity), designed in
accordance with the tontine
system, for low-income
households and small
businesses in the informal
sector. A tontine is a group
savings and mutual fi nancial
assistance programme for
a small group of borrowers
BNP Paribas Annual Report 2007 /////// Corporate social responsibility
This partnership focuses primarily on refi nancing microfi
nance institutions (MFIs) and fi nancing small- and
medium-sized enterprises based on guarantees issued
by AFD through its Ariz guarantee fund or its subsidiary
Proparco. This type of scheme is already in place in countries
such as Senegal, Guinea, Mali and Madagascar.
BNP Paribas and AFD have also developed partnerships
with respect to other corporate social responsibility and
environmental projects. In several countries, AFD or
Proparco make medium- and long-term fi nancial resources
available to the Group’s local entities, which are then
used by the entities to refi nance clients’ sustainable development
projects. In 2007, agreements of this type were
signed with TEB in Turkey and with UBCI in Tunisia. The
Bank also offers subsidised investment loans (PAI), which
are refi nanced by AFD, to small- and medium-sized enterprises
in the French overseas departments and territories.
A link-up with specialised rating agency Planet Rating, a
spin-off from the international NGO PlaNet Finance, has fostered
a better understanding of the business model specifi c
to microfi nance. Through this link-up a realistic risk policy
has been established, which takes account of a project’s
social impact, as well as of traditional fi nancial criteria.
Other areas of microfi nance are gaining ground, notably
micro-insurance. In December 2007, SBI Life, a joint venture
between BNP Paribas Assurance and State Bank of
India launched “Grameen Shakti” and “Grameen Super
Suraksha”, two micro-insurance life products designed
for self help groups (groups of people belonging to the
poorest populations in India, 90% created by women).
These products, which are distributed by the SBI branch
network and by NGOs and microfi nance institutions,
enable vulnerable populations to obtain life cover at very
advantageous prices (from less than EUR 1 per annum).
who are jointly liable. Each
member pays into the
tontine on a regular basis
and can, in turn, take out a
loan for up to three times the
amount saved.
BNP Paribas champions
microfi nance in Mali
Banque Internationale
pour le Commerce et
l’Industrie du Mali (BICIM),
a BNP Paribas subsidiary,
signed a EUR 230,000 loan
agreement in July 2007 with
the microfi nance institution
Miselini. Miselini, which
means “little needle” in
Bambara, was set up in 1999
and has since expanded
throughout underprivileged
neighbourhoods in Bamako
and the surrounding areas.
Miselini has over 16,000
active borrowers and
primarily targets women’s
groups, helping to support
their business and/or craft
activities.
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