It is a fundamental business of the group

Appointed to head the Caisses d'Epargne and popular banks early March, François Pérol takes control in the new set this summer, if the Act is enacted before 30 June. He explains why the two groups recapitalisent Natixis today and announces that he wants to conduct a strategic review on real estate and insurance by the end of the year.

You announce a new recapitalisation of Natixis. Was - this indispensable

Natixis has been in the first quarter very heavily EBIT impacted by the crisis: the degradation of the economic and financial environment has led to significant impairment of assets in the portfolio based, which is managed by extinction. At the same time, perennial activities of society, in the financing and Investment Bank and other trades of asset management, of insurance, for example consumer credit identified results in strong growth from the previous quarter. In total, due to the impairment of assets on activities in extinction, is loss and shareholders made the decision to provide own funds for the maintenance of a high level of solvency, because after these inputs, the ratio of Tier 1 of Natixis will be 9.4.

Is Natixis it finished with the impairment

The provisioning rate we adopted is comparable to that of our competitors French and even higher in a number of major institutions European. But it is still too early to say if impairment losses have been completed. This will essentially depend on the continuation or non-degradation of conditions, including a number of markets in which our defeased asset portfolio is exposed, including residential and commercial estate American. The Board of Directors asked the new General Manager, Laurent Mignon, accelerate operations to reduce the risk profile of the company, which I see has already declined in the first quarter.

Will 5 billion of contributions by the State be sufficient

This level of 5 billion was calibrated by the State and prudential in the light of the likely including risk analysis by Natixis and authorities of the likelihood of these risks, through impairment of assets, in an economic crisis environment.

There is no reason to consider today that this contribution will not suffice to deal with a new risk of impairment. What we learned in this crisis, it is that we must manage in the long term by adopting a satisfactory level of caution. After recapitalisation, we have still a right circulation of 3 billion euros to the State, knowing that the new group has a solid financial structure with more than 36 billion euros of funds own Tier 1.

Why not have "recovered" cantonment portfolio to the central body, as it had been for CIFG to relieve Natixis

It would be a very complex operation. This is not the order of the day.

The group will hold its commitments to increase the stock of credit from 3 to 4 this year

In the coming months, it is the evolution of the credit application, very closely related to the economic environment, which will play a key role. More generally, the results of retail banking are objectively good invoice this first quarter to the Banques Populaires, despite the increase in the cost of the risk, with an excellent control of overhead costs, which fell 0.5 in the quarter. At Caisses d'Epargne, market dynamism the net product Bank increased 10 and losses own accounts of regional caisses in 2008 are largely behind us. The impact of the booklet, is limited by the rise in stocks until early 2009.

That will change the Bill which will be discussed by the deputies from the week next to create the new central body

It is the updating of the powers entrusted very classically by the central organ of a banking group cooperative law. An update to both points of view: first drawing lessons from the financial crisis to be more specific on the role of financial control of the central organ, whether it be monitoring, management of liquidity or solvency. Then, to take account of the fact that the group is based on two decentralized networks.

Some "barons" fear that the central organ is too centralised, closer to the model of Caisses d'Epargne than of Banques Populaires

It is a false question. It will be neither more nor less driver that another, because the two groups are cooperative and decentralized. They have slightly different practices that take their history one of the networks is younger than the other but their "genes" are the same.

What fate you reserve for real estate assets of the two groups

It is expected that the major of them (Crédit Foncier of France, Nexity, Foncia) are housed first in companies holdings held directly by the regional savings banks on the one hand, by regional popular banks on the other hand. We will conduct a strategic review before December 31, 2009 to decide what to do, that is either integrated into the new central body or assign. The group is very invested in real estate with assets of quality on all trades, for example the administration of property with Foncia, promotion with Nexity, construction with EFG Habitat... It takes a comprehensive approach to address this issue. It is for this that I wished that the General Management Committee of the future central organ includes a dedicated Manager, Guy Cotret, whose mission will be to define the strategy of the group in these trades.

Will you do the same strategic review for your insurance business

The NOC has an agreement with Natixis insurance with the Banques Populaires and Caisses d'Epargne. We actually have a strategic work to carry out, with Laurent Mignon, to see what is the best industrial organization for our insurance activities. It is a fundamental business of the group.

What balance are you getting these two and a half months at the head of the two groups

Since March 2, a series of questions have been resolved, which are related to gender, governance, the approximation to the industrial project. The tensions of the previous period are completed.

We move forward on the roadmap that we have set. I went on the ground several times and I have seen teams know each other, look and adhere to the industrial project as soon as it meets their co-operative and decentralized. The two groups have a real desire to move forward together and a true desire to build, what will tomorrow be the second group banking French and I hope, the first Bank of the daily newspaper of the French and their businesses.

Can complaints that you are disrupting the reconciliation Non.