Following the announcement of its company purpose in June 2021, the French bank La Banque Postale (LBP) became a mission-led company. This makes the bank a perfect example of a changemaker. Boris Plantier from Qorus interviewed Vincent Menvielle, Marketing Director at La Banque Postale, to find out more about his vision for the bank and its future.
How do you envision the role of banks evolving to drive a positive future? What specific initiatives or strategies are you implementing to align with this vision?
Commercial banks are at the heart of our economy, through their financing and investing activities. They are acting as agents, basically lending and rewarding money for all stakeholders in the larger ecosystem. In my eyes, this role comes with a larger responsibility – that is to incite clients to do business in the right way when it comes to transitioning towards a positive future. One can choose to ignore or accept this new role, but banks are overall coming to terms with and converging towards this idea that they are instrumental in helping change our world. I personally certainly have conviction in it.
In order to do that, some of them are also joining forces, as can be seen with the creation of a number of alliances such as the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) towards which La Banque Postale contributes significantly today.
For a bank like us, as a subsidiary of the La Poste group, playing this role as part of the larger public financial sector is a natural endeavor, considering it has always been in our citizen-minded DNA to act with a view that goes well beyond financial profit and towards being a force for good.
Our commitment is now also at the heart of our company’s purpose, with social and environmental targets, as we have transitioned to being a purpose-driven company in 2022, one year following our landmark decision – a first in the industry – to end any financing to oil and gas business.
