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• In 2018, Banca March bought BNP Paribas' Mass Affluent private banking activity in Spain. The seamless integration experience for customers and professionals alike, Banca March's excellent solvency levels and the quality service provided by the bank were all crucial drivers behind the selection of Banca March as the buyer.
• Banca March is committed to positioning itself as the leading provider of private banking and wealth management services in Spain, with a unique business model underpinned by shareholder commitment, exclusive products, excellent professionals and outstanding quality service, in line with global private banking best practices.

 

In 2018, Banca March bought BNP Paribas' Mass Affluent private banking activity in Spain. The optimal integration experience for customers and professionals alike, Banca March's excellent solvency levels and its outstanding service quality were all crucial factors in the selection of Banca March. Quality surveys performed by independent consultancy firm STIGA among Banca March customers in relation to this transaction show that the bank's customers score their managers 9.09 out of 10, with an Overall Satisfaction Rate for the bank of 8.24 and a Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures the degree to which customers would recommend the bank, of 32.24%, which is classified as an excellent level.

BNP Paribas sought the best possible strategic partner for the activity to be transferred through the transaction, allowing it to focus on areas where its business model adds greater value for its customers. After this transaction it will be seeking to position itself as the leading European alternative for HNWI customers in the Spanish market, where it enjoys a leadership position with more than €5bn in assets under management.

José Luis Acea, CEO of Banca March in Spain, said: "What sets us apart from the rest is a robust strategy, an unparalleled business model and a philosophy which seeks shared growth with customers, employees, shareholders and society. Private Banking and Wealth Management customers place particular value on the personal service and stable working relationship with a bank which boasts almost 100 years' experience in wealth advisory services and co-investment, and which always operates in its customers' best interests. Offering private banking advisory services on a par with major international financial institutions requires an ecosystem of extremely robust solvency, liquidity and coverage, close engagement with the bank and its values and a medium- and long-term approach which protects customer assets from short term return pressures. That is why we are convinced that our model is unique and inimitable. We are proud to extend this same commitment and these values to the BNP Paribas customers and professionals joining Banca March by virtue of this agreement; we welcome them with the same enthusiasm, commitment and responsibility with which we achieved the highly successful integration of the BNP Paribas Mass Affluent activity in 2018.”

Antonio Salgado, CEO of BNP Paribas Wealth Management in Spain, added: “This agreement seeks to accelerate the strategy adopted by BNP Paribas Wealth Management two years ago to focus on providing outstanding service to high net worth clients. We can offer these clients solutions for integrated financial, real estate and business asset planning delivered by a multi-disciplinary team of professionals and underpinned by the extensive global capabilities of our Group. The goal, in keeping with the bank's overall strategy in Europe, is to continue to support and grow this activity and position BNP Paribas as the go-to bank for these private investors. In Banca March, we have found the best possible partner to offer our customers outstanding quality service tailored perfectly to their needs, thanks both to its capabilities and resources and to its culture and values. The bank's high solvency levels, its immaculate reputation, its excellent service levels and the specialist advisory services it offers were all crucial factors behind its selection.”

Banca March's co-investment model, launched in 2008, allows its customers to invest in real economy products. Under this strategy, investments have been undertaken of over €2.4 billion in various asset types, sectors and regions; 50% of this total was invested by the Group, reflecting our commitment to shared growth. Over this period, the weighted average IRR obtained stands at over 13%, on investments with very different time horizons and risk-return profiles.

Banca March: a market leader in people management, quality and advisory technology

Banca March is a high-performing, results-driven organisation, underpinned by the ethical values of professionalism, expertise, meritocracy and responsible banking. This means employing the very best professionals and investing more than twice as much in training than the rest of the sector. This management style – which places the bank's people at the core of every initiative and seeks to offer a motivating work environment – has garnered Banca March global recognition in the field of Human Resources. Recently, the company has been awarded Top Employer certification for the fourth year running and Great Place to Work certification for the third year in a row. In 2021, Banca March was named one of the top ten best places to work in Spain, and was the only Spanish bank featured among the best places to work in Europe, according to the prestigious Best Workplaces 2021 ranking by the independent consultant Great Place To Work.

Banca March has created the best training facility for private bankers in the Spanish banking sector, which is clearly reflected in the quality standards perceived by its customers. According to the results of the Financial Sector Customer Satisfaction Benchmarking surveys by STIGA, Banca March was the highest-scoring bank in the sector in 2021 for strength and solvency, and was among the top scorers for overall satisfaction, Net Promoter Score (NPS), satisfaction with managers, transparency, trust, personal relations, modernity and social commitment.

Through its Digital Transformation process, Banca March has developed tools for customers and managers which allow it to offer a cutting-edge omni-channel advisory system and have positioned the bank as a leader in advisory technology. The bank's customers now have access to the market's most comprehensive online reporting service, offering clear, detailed, easily accessible information on the real time performance of their savings and investments.  Banca March recently became the first Spanish financial institution to offer its customers a voice biometrics system to authorise their banking transactions and has also developed one of the most comprehensive tax simulators in the sector.

BNP Paribas Wealth Management doubles down on strategy to focus on HNWI customers with global banking needs

BNP Paribas Wealth Management will continue to specialise in high net worth customers with a global profile; as one of the largest global financial institutions in this area, with assets under management of over €5bn in the Spanish market, it is able to offer these clients a unique value proposition. BNP Paribas Group is channelling its Wealth Management activity towards a business model focused on high net worth individuals with a global profile. It is well-positioned to add greater value for these customers, providing tailored services with highly-sophisticated, innovative solutions, harnessing the extensive capabilities of the BNP Paribas Group (Corporate and Institutional Banking, Asset Management, Real Estate, etc.). This agreement will allow BNP Paribas to step up its specialisation strategy and dedicate its global and local teams and resources to a business area where it can offer strong added value for its customers.