France: Banque des Territoires launches S’GREEN+ with the support of the EIB and the European Investment Advisory Hub
With the backing of the European Investment Advisory Hub set up by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB), Banque des Territoires is launching “S’GREEN+”. This development aid initiative will provide 25 cities participating in the City Centre Action programme with operational support as they roll out their climate change adaptation projects.
S’GREEN+ is endowed with €715 500, of which €500 000 is provided by the European Investment Advisory Hub under the Investment Plan for Europe. The remaining €215 500 is provided by Banque des Territoires. The operational management of S’GREEN+ will be handled by Banque des Territoires as part of its City Centre Action programme.
This project aims to strengthen the partnership struck between Caisse des Dépôts and the EIB in 2013 while also building on their cooperation, initiated in 2016, in providing technical assistance via EIAH[1].
This initiative consolidates the commitment of Banque des Territoires and the EIB to the European Green Deal, whose goal is to turn the European Union into the first economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Its objective is to boost public and private investment volumes in climate change adaptation projects along with initiatives for preserving or restoring biodiversity in medium-sized cities, which play a major role in the fight against global warming. These include projects for restoring watercourses to their natural states, creating biodiversity spaces or limiting urban sprawl.
Under S’GREEN+, a task force supervised by Banque des Territoires will work with around 25 municipalities already benefiting from the City Centre Action programme. This team will provide each city with bespoke support for prioritising projects, taking decisions and organising financing (identifying sources of funding, tightening up investment plans, etc.). This support will result in a specific action plan for each municipality, listing the projects identified as priorities and outlining the steps to be taken to implement them. All the work carried out by the task force will be uploaded to an online digital library accessible to all to help share experience with other communities both within France and throughout the European Union.
The agreement was signed on 7 December 2020 by Eric Lombard, chief executive of Caisse des Dépôts, and Ambroise Fayolle, vice president of the EIB, and is due to last for a period of one year.
According to Eric Lombard, chief executive of Caisse des Dépôts, “this initiative is the result of the strong and supportive cooperation between the Caisse des Dépôts group and the European Investment Bank as they join forces to protect the environment. The ecological transition is the major goal of our recovery plan. Banque des Territoires is therefore using its recognised expertise in technical assistance and investment to provide regions with on-the-ground support.”
“This is the second such financing agreement between the EIB and the CDC, which is a strong sign of our excellent cooperation. This agreement provides an answer to French municipalities’ need for advisory support when identifying and preparing projects that will allow them to meet the challenges posed by climate change,” said Ambroise Fayolle, EIB vice president. He added, “The EIB, as the climate bank, is pleased to support this agreement which demonstrates our commitment to working with our national partners – and the CDC is a key partner for the EIB in France – to stimulate sustainable investment in the heart of the regions.”
European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said: “Thanks to a grant by the Investment Plan for Europe’s Advisory Hub, Banque des Territoires will be able to deliver targeted support to 25 cities in France to help them adapt to climate change. This agreement is an important sign of our support to cities, which are hubs for innovative ideas and have an important role to play in making the green transition a success story.”
Crédit Agricole Assurances joins forces with Banque des Territoires and Groupama to develop its renewable energy investment company alongside Engie
Crédit Agricole Assurances, Banque des Territoires and the Groupama Group announced that they signed an agreement under which Banque des Territoires and Groupama will enter the capital of Predica Energies Durables (PED), Crédit Agricole Assurances’ dedicated subsidiary for investments in renewable energy production assets alongside Engie, the French market leader for solar and wind power generation. Following this transaction, the two new investors will respectively hold 22% and 18% of PED’s capital, with Crédit Agricole Assurances remaining PED’s majority shareholder with 60% of its capital.
Created in 2014, PED is Crédit Agricole Assurances’ investment vehicle for its strategic partnership with Engie to jointly hold onshore wind and solar assets in France. This partnership, with a total installed base of around 2GW at end-2019, represents the largest platform for operational renewable assets in France.
The arrival of Banque des Territoires and the Groupama Group alongside Crédit Agricole Assurances will make it possible to further strengthen the partnership, increasing the capacity for investment of PED, France’s leading institutional investor in renewable energies.
“The development of renewable energies is in line with the 2°C roadmap. As a responsible investor, we want to contribute, through our investments, towards achieving this goal. Our partnership with Engie represents a major operation for this strategy. To enable it to deploy its full potential, we are delighted to welcome on board Groupama and Banque des Territoires, two long-term investors who share our commitments”, explains Jean-Jacques Duchamp, Deputy CEO of Crédit Agricole Assurances.
“As a mutual insurer and responsible investor, the Groupama Group is firmly focused on climate change as one of its core commitments. We are delighted and proud to be contributing in this way to the development of renewable energies in France”, confirms Mikaël Cohen, Group Chief Investment Officer of Groupama.
“We are investing in renewable energies in order to put in place the financial resources needed to make concrete progress with the energy transition towards more sustainable regions. This partnership is part of this ambition: with Crédit Agricole Assurances and Groupama, Banque des Territoires is supporting Engie and making it possible to produce more renewable energies in France”, declared Olivier Sichel, Director of Banques des Territoires.
These three signatories of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), Crédit Agricole Assurances, Caisse des Dépôts for Banque des Territoires and Groupama, take environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into account in their investment decisions. This outstanding transaction once again illustrates their shared commitments in relation to these major challenges.
The transaction’s close is expected by December 2019, subject to the usual conditions being met in this area.
Banque des Territoires and Crédit Agricole Assurances partner with Korian group to develop Ages&Vie shared senior housing throughout France
Banque des Territoires, Crédit Agricole Assurances, the leading insurance group in France and the Korian group, European leader in care and support services for seniors, announce a partnership to develop Ages&Vie homes, an alternative shared housing solution for the elderly in France.
By 2024, 150 new locations will be launched throughout the country, which means nearly 300 houses, offering 3,000 places of accommodation and allowing the creation of 1,500 direct jobs for home helps.
This partnership will allow the development of 28 new projects in 17 departments from 2019. Each project is subject to a prior agreement with the municipality and department concerned. The buildings will all be built according to the NF Habitat HQE standard.
This partnership takes the form of the creation of a Real estate civil company, which will invest in real estate, with Banque des Territoires and Crédit Agricole Assurances joining forces with Korian. Banque des Territoires will be a 35% shareholder, as will Crédit Agricole Assurances, with the balance of the capital held by Korian.
These residences will be operated by the Franche-Comté company Ages&Vie, created in 2008 by Nicolas Perrette, Simon Vouillot and Thierry Morel and of which the Korian Group became the main shareholder in 2018. Ages&Vie, which employs 200 people, already operates a park of 50 residences in 30 different municipalities in the Burgundy Franche Comté region. These residences are organized around units that can each accommodate eight elderly people, who, while having a private space, share common living spaces and are assisted by home helps, some of whom live on site with their families.
This form of inclusive housing, which is an intermediary between home support and nursing homes, meets a need that has hitherto been poorly covered in terms of social support for the elderly and is particularly adapted to the needs of rural and peri-urban municipalities
« As a major player for health and healthy ageing, Crédit Agricole Assurances is proud of this partnership, which will make it possible to support seniors throughout France. The Crédit Agricole Group has a strong regional presence through its 39 Regional Banks, which have the possibility to link up with this Ages&Vie development project. This regional presence enables us to maintain close links with our customers and support them at all the key moments in their lives, including old age » said Frédéric Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Agricole Assurances.
« By contributing to the development of a new offer of accommodation for the elderly, Banque des Territoires fully meets its mission of serving more inclusive territories. With a population over 75 years of age increasing by more than 70% by 2060, local authorities, especially those in rural areas, are proposing solutions that allow them to age with confidence. This is the case of this shared habitat which, with specific support, fully meets the wish of 90% of French people to age at home » says Olivier Sichel, Director of Banque des Territoires.
« I am delighted that Banque des Territoires and Crédit Agricole Assurances are working with Ages&Vie to design and develop new solutions to support the elderly. Thanks to this partnership, we will be able to significantly accelerate the pace of development of Ages&Vie residences and respond in a concrete way to the needs expressed by municipalities in rural and peri-urban areas » says Sophie Boissard, Korian Group’s CEO.