The banking cooperative La Nef, backed by Crédit coopératif (itself a subsidiary of the BPCE group), is seeking 30 million euros in order to become independent and offer new services to its individual customers, she announced on Tuesday.
The alternative model of La Nef, very different from the traditional banking system, must be able to be offered to the general public and have its place at the heart of French society, explains AFP the chairman of the management board Bernard Horenbeek.
La Nef is a banking cooperative born out of associations. It is intended to finance exclusively projects presented as being of ecological, social and/or cultural utility.
Its 80,000 customers have entrusted it with a total of one billion euros in savings. Two-thirds of this sum goes to financing thousands of projects such as the development of Biocoop stores, the Ethiquable chocolate brand and even the ecological shoe manufacturer Veja.
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30million equity
The cooperative is now required to be backed by a larger banking group guaranteeing its solvency and liquidity. This role is performed by Crédit Coopératif, attached to the banking giant BPCE.
To enter a new phase, La Nef needs to be independent and to free itself from this supervision, explains AFP Ivan Chaleil, member of the executive board of La Nef.
However, it will have to obtain approval from the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority (ACPR), the banking policeman attached to the Banque de France, expected for the beginning of next year after a file was filed at the end of June.
For this request to succeed, the Nef needs to initiate a strong increase in its equity and to maintain a dynamic collection of capital in the coming years, specifies a press release.
If it managed to raise 30 million euros in equity, the cooperative would have complete control of its activity and would be able to develop its offer, in particular by offering an account and a payment card to individuals, she promises.
La Nef is currently only present in savings and credit products. A member of the European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks, La Nef states that it does not engage in speculative activity on the financial markets and only finances the real economy.
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