The two shareholders in bpost bank, BNP Paribas Fortis and bpost, have reached an in-principle agreement to extend their partnership until 2021.
They also decided to increase the capital by 100 million euro.
The bpost bank CEO, David Moucheron explained: “This renewal of the partnership between the two shareholders constitutes a further important step in the bank’s development. The partnership extension provides the bank with the means and the stability to continue its forward thrust towards becoming a modern bank, able to meet customers’ needs and well-adapted to the new realities and requirements of the financial sector.”
Founded in 1995 under the name Banque de La Poste / Bank van De Post, bpost bank was a joint venture between the former Generale Bank – which became BNP Paribas Fortis – and Belgian post office De Post / La Poste, since re-named bpost. Originally the bank’s service range consisted exclusively of savings products.
In 1998, it took over the national post office’s postal cheque accounts portfolio and subsequently gradually expanded its offering into investment products, life insurance and consumer credit.
The bank operates independently and has its own management structure. However, it is able to draw on the knowhow of the BNP Paribas Group to assist in developing and launching its products, which are distributed through the extensive network of Belgian post offices.
bpost bank is today a sizeable player on the Belgian market, with over a million customers and more than 10 billion euro in assets under management.
Over the coming months, bpost bank will continue to invest in expanding its service offering, inter alia by diversifying the product range, including its savings products, investment vehicles and lending activities, extending its service provision through its fleet of ATMs, plus developing mobile banking apps for tablets and smartphones, whose launch is scheduled for this year.
These initiatives will of course proceed hand-in-hand with determined efforts to improve customer care and service at post offices. Today, around two thirds of the post offices are provided with dedicated reception areas for banking advisory sessions, with over 500 financial advisors and office staff specially trained to deal with clients of the bank.
“Given the various developments and the business results achieved in recent years, we are confident about the bank’s future growth prospects,” stated BNP Paribas Fortis CEO Max Jadot, adding: “The extensive post office network and the positioning of bpost bank contribute strongly to our multi-brand distribution strategy.”
“bpost bank is one of the growth areas in our overall strategy. The renewal of our partnership with BNP Paribas Fortis is therefore of great importance to us,” stressed bpost CEO Johnny Thijs, underlining: “The bank has seen strong growth in recent years due largely to the wide network of post offices. This local presence is a crucial asset for bpost bank.”
About bpost bank
Founded in 1995 under the name Bank van De Post / Banque de La Poste, bpost bank is an independent Belgian bank based upon a unique partnership approach.
The bank is held on a 50-50 basis by bpost and BNP Paribas Fortis and governed by an independent Executive Board. It currently has over a million customers on the Belgian market. In a financial world which is becoming ever more complex, bpost bank’s basic philosophy is that its products and services should be simple, accessible to all and provide full security. With this in mind, bpost bank’s aim is to become ever more user-friendly and secure, serving a broad customer base.