Caisse d'Epargne expands its Vitibanque

Caisse d'Epargne accelerates its expansion in the wine market and announces the launch of its Vitibanque in a dozen wine-producing regions. Initially launched by the Caisse Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Vitibanque is a bank dedicated to winegrowers, offering a wide range of products and services to meet their specific needs. It has been a resounding success, prompting the group to invest heavily in this customer segment at national level.

FACTS 

• Caisse d'Epargne drew on the expertise and feedback of its Burgundy Franche Comté subsidiary, which was launched in 2017 and now has more than 600 winegrowing customers in its territory, from small family businesses to grands crus. 

• The study of these 600 customers enabled us to understand the changing expectations of winegrowers and to co-create Vitibanque with the Caisse d'Epargne Aquitaine Poitou-Charentes and the Caisse d'Epargne Grand Est Europe. 

• Vitibanque is now available in ten regions: Aquitaine, Poitou-Charentes, Bourgogne, Franche-Comté, Bretagne, Pays de Loire, Côte d'Azur, Grand-Est-Europe, Loire Centre, Languedoc-Roussillon, CEPAC and Rhône Alpes.

• In the payment field, Caisse d'Epargne also offers additional products and services, ranging from payment services to website building and cash collection:

  • Collections (Android TPE, CE Boost Pay)

  • CE Boost Fid loyalty program: which develops customer frequency, analyzes their purchasing habits and sends them personalized offers by email and/or SMS. It relies on the Eftpos terminal and the customer's payment card, which becomes their loyalty card.

  • Building a website with IZ E-Commerce from Regicom

• Finally, the bank is also banking on an indispensable range of insurance products dedicated to the specific needs of winegrowers (facilities, accommodation, vehicles, activities, protection against bad weather, etc.). For this, it relies on insurance broker Gras Savoye Willis Towers Watson.

CHALLENGES 

• Challenging the historical positioning of its competitors to capture a fast-growing market: Caisse d'Epargne Bourgogne Franche-Comté has recorded a NBI of 5 million euros on the wine business in 2022 (for a total NBI of 315 million euros for this caisse), a figure which the bank believes is growing at a double-digit rate. Coupled with the sector's strong export potential, this figure justifies BPCE's desire to accelerate the expansion of this business nationwide.

• Helping winegrowers develop their business: Vitibanque aims to meet all the needs of wine merchants, facilitating their day-to-day business, financing their activities and operating cycles, and supporting their international development. The product range is designed to cover all their needs, including crop insurance, which provides financial security by covering loss of income (drought, hail, floods, storms). Climate change is leading to more frequent and unpredictable storms, affecting crops and therefore yields.

• Preparing for the transfer or sale of their business is a major concern for 39% of winegrowers, according to a 2021 survey by L'Observatoire de BPCE. Caisse d'Epargne aims to help them optimize their personal winegrowing assets and prepare for the transfer of these assets or their business.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE 

• While mutual banks have made several forays into the farm market (notably Banque Populaire and Crédit Mutuel), Crédit Agricole remains the dominant player, with a wide range of products and services aimed at this target group.

• On the insurance side, Groupama is multiplying its initiatives and services to support farmers.

• Last but not least, Vitibanque was launched after several other regional affinity initiatives by Groupe BPCE, such as Nautibanque (dedicated to boating) and Luxury properties (for luxury real estate).