Natixis : SECOND-QUARTER AND FIRST-HALF 2015 RESULTS

Paris, July 30, 2015

Second-Quarter and First-Half 2015 Results
NET REVENUES UP 12% to €4,360m AND NET INCOME UP 13% to €729m IN 1H15
Financial structure reinforcement and Strict management of the balance sheet

Strong dynamism in the three core businesses in 1H15

Growth in earnings⁽¹⁾  and ROE on core businesses

Improved financial structure and strict discipline with scarce resources 

(1) See note on methodology
(2) Based on CRR-CRD4 rules published on June 26, 2013, including the Danish compromise - no phase-in except for DTAs on loss carry-forwards

The Board of Directors examined Natixis's second-quarter 2015 accounts on July 30, 2015.

For Natixis, the main features of 2Q15 were⁽¹⁾:

• 11% revenue growth in core businesses vs. 2Q14 and 7% revenue growth for Natixis as a whole during the same period.

Within the CIB, new loan production in the Structured financing segment remained brisk, Equity Derivatives continued to fare well and the international platform, notably in Asia, increased activity significantly. Asset management again grew revenues strongly year-on-year and recorded further healthy net new money. The acquisition of DNCA was completed on June 30, 2015. In Insurance, non-life business made strong progress and share of unit-linked policies is still growing in life business.
Specialized Financial Services performed well, primarily driven by Consumer finance and Sureties & guarantees.   

• a 6% increase in gross operating income to €745m,
   
• a marked reduction in the provision for credit loss to 32bps vs. 45bps on 2Q14,
   
• an 11% advance in pre-tax profit vs. 2Q14,
   
• a 5% improvement in net income (group share) to €398m, despite the impact of dividend taxation,
   
• a 140bp-increase in core-business ROE to 13.8%,
   
• a leverage ratio⁽¹⁾ of 3.9% at end-June 2015 (+30bps vs. end-March 2015) notably thanks to a 11% reduction in the balance sheet vs. end-March 2015,
   
• a CET1 ratio⁽²⁾ of 11.0% as at June 30, 2015.

Laurent Mignon, Natixis Chief Executive Officer, said: «We are continuing successfully our strategic plan. Revenues and profitability in our three core businesses are improving. The weight of our international operations is increasing, as shown by the marked rise in business, notably in Asia in the Corporate & Investment Banking. The acquisition of DNCA is now complete and further expands the weight of Investment Solutions in our overall business mix. The significant reductions in our risk-weighted assets and balance sheet reflect the success of our asset-light model, fully devoted to constructing client-centric financial solutions».

1. See note on methodology
2. Based on CRR-CRD4 rules published on June 26, 2013, including the Danish compromise - no phase-in except for DTAs on loss carry-forwards

1 - Natixis 2Q15 and 1H15 results

1.1       Exceptional items⁽¹⁾

1. See note on methodology
2. Estimated impact

1.2       2Q15 results

(1)        See note on methodology

Unless stated otherwise, the commentary that follows refers to pro forma results excluding exceptional items (see detail p3).

NET REVENUES

Natixis's net revenues rose 7% in 2Q15 vs. 2Q14 and included an 11% increase in core-business revenues (+2% at constant exchange rates).

The breakdown by core business was as follows:

• Corporate & Investment Banking revenues were fueled by fine performances from the Equity and Structured financing segments and rose 5%,
• Investment Solutions revenues climbed 19% (6% at constant exchange rates), driven by strong business in Asset management, Insurance and Private banking,
• Revenues from Specialized Financial Services advanced 5% and were notably buoyed by 9% growth in Specialized financing,
• Financial Investments recorded lower revenues, reflecting a tougher economic context for Coface.

EXPENSES

Expenses came out at €1,431m vs. €1,320m in 2Q14. Gross operating income improved 6% to €745m vs. 2Q14.

PROVISION FOR CREDIT LOSS

The provision for credit loss amounted to €64m and improved by a sizeable 22% relative to a year earlier. Expressed in basis points of the loan book (excluding credit institutions), the core-business provision for credit loss improved to 32bps vs. 43bps in 1Q15 and vs. 45bps in 2Q14.

PRE-TAX PROFIT

Pre-tax profit progressed by 11% to €694m.

NET INCOME
                            
Net income (group share) amounted to €398m and advanced 5% vs. 2Q14. Restated for the IFRIC 21 impact    (-€14m in 2Q15 and -€12m in 2Q14), it also progressed by 5% to €384m.

After reincorporating exceptional items (-€30m) and the effect of the revaluation of own senior debt (+€82m net of tax), reported net income (group share) rose 30% to €450m in 2Q15.

                   1.3       1H15 results
         
         

1.  See note on methodology

Unless stated otherwise, the commentary that follows refers to pro forma results excluding exceptional items (see detail p3).

NET REVENUES

Natixis's net revenues rose 12% in 1H15 vs. 1H14, including a 13% increase in core-business revenues (+5% at constant exchange rates).

The breakdown by core business was as follows:

• Corporate & Investment Banking revenues rose 8% and included increases of 14% in Capital markets and 7% in Structured financing,  
• Investment Solutions revenues climbed 23% (+10% at constant exchange rates), fuelled by strong growth in Asset management (+25%) and Insurance (+12%), 
• Revenues from Specialized Financial Services improved 4%, thanks particularly to a fine performance in Specialized financing,
• Revenues from Financial Investments were unchanged in the first half.

EXPENSES

Tight control of expenses drove a significant improvement in the cost-income ratio, which fell by 1.7pps vs. 1H14 to 66.6%, excluding the IFRIC 21 impact. This helped lift gross operating income by 20% to €1.424bn (+9% at constant exchange rates).

PROVISION FOR CREDIT LOSS

The provision for credit loss shrank 12% vs. 1H14 to €141m.

PRE-TAX PROFIT

Pre-tax profit jumped 26% to €1.304bn.

NET INCOME

Net income (group share) amounted to €729m and advanced 13% vs. 1H14. Restated for the IFRIC 21 impact   (+€28m in 1H15 and +€27m in 1H14), it progressed by 13% to €757m.

After reincorporating exceptional items (-€77m) and the effect of the revaluation of own senior debt (+€85m net of tax), reported net income (group share) rose 20% to €737m in 1H15.

2 - Financial Structure

Natixis's Basel 3 CET1 ratio⁽¹⁾ worked out to 11.0% at June 30, 2015.

Based on a Basel 3 CET1 ratio⁽¹⁾ of 10.6% at March, 2015, after the impact of the DNCA acquisition, the respective impacts in the second quarter of 2015 were as follows:

• effect of allocating net income (group share) to retained earnings in 2Q15, excluding the dividend: +27bps,
• Dividend based on a 50% pay out ratio: -15bps,
• RWA, FX and others effects: +25bps.

Basel 3 capital and risk-weighted assets⁽¹⁾ amounted to €12.6bn and €115bn, respectively, at June 30, 2015.

EQUITY CAPITAL - TIER ONE CAPITAL - BOOK VALUE PER SHARE

Equity capital (group share) amounted to €18.3bn at June 30, 2015, of which €1.1bn was in the form of hybrid securities (DSNs and preferred shares) recognized in equity capital at fair value.

Core tier 1 capital (Basel 3 - phase-in) amounted to €12.5bn, and tier 1 capital (Basel 3 - phase-in) to €13.2bn.

Natixis's risk-weighted assets totaled €115.1bn at June 30, 2015 (Basel 3 - phase-in), breakdown as following:

• Credit risk: €75.1bn
• Counterparty risk: €8.9bn
• CVA: €5.0bn
• Market risk: €14.1bn
• Operational risk: €12.0bn

Under Basel 3 (phase-in), the CET1 ratio stood at 10.8% at June 30, 2015 the Tier 1 ratio was 11.5% and the total ratio 12.9%.

Book value per share was €5.43 at June 30, 2015 based on 3,118,229,513 shares excluding treasury stock (the total number of shares stands at 3,119,622,141). Net tangible book value per share (after deducting goodwill and intangible fixed assets) was €4.28.

LEVERAGE RATIO ⁽²⁾

At June 30, leverage ratio stood at 3.9%.

OVERALL CAPITAL ADEQUACY RATIO

As at June 30, 2015, the financial conglomerate's capital exceeded the regulatory minimum was estimated to around €6bn.

1. Based on CRR-CRD4 rules published on June 26, 2013, including the Danish compromise - no phase-in except for DTAs on loss carry-forwards
2. See note on methodology

3 - Results by business line

Corporate & Investment Banking
Figures excluding exceptional items⁽¹⁾

(1)  See note on methodology
(2)  See note on methodology and excluding the IFRIC 21 impact

Corporate & Investment Banking revenues rose 5% to €842m in 2Q15 relative to 2Q14. Over 1H15 as a whole, they increased by 8% and by 10% excluding non-recurrent transactions booked in the Structured financing segment in 1Q14. During the first half, the APAC platform hoisted revenues by 59%.

Operating expenses amounted to €459m vs. €422m in 2Q14. Several factors lay behind the increase in 2Q15, i.e. international investments, the negative GBP/EUR impact and the application of the Dodd Frank Act/Volcker Rule in the USA. The cost-income ratio worked out to 55.8% in 2Q15 vs. 54.2% in 2Q14, excluding the IFRIC 21 impact.

Gross operating income rose 1% to €383m in 2Q15 and 6% to €697m in 1H15, both relative to the year-earlier periods.

The provision for credit loss sank 35% to €40m in 2Q15. Over 1H15, it fell 7% to €105m.

Pre-tax profit increased 9% in both 2Q15 and 1H15 to reach €348m and €601m, respectively.

ROE after tax, after Basel III capital allocation and excluding the IFRIC 21 impact, improved by 110bps to 11.6% in 2Q15. 

In Structured financing, new production hit a new record of €8.1bn in 2Q15, making €13.8bn for 1H15 as a whole (+18% vs. 1H14). The momentum came particularly from the Acquisition & Strategic Finance and from Aircraft, Export & Infrastructure segments. Net revenues advanced to €305m in 2Q15, up 16% in reported terms and 4% on a constant-exchange rate basis. The proportion of net revenues accounted for by fees continued to increase and represented 39% of net revenues vs. 33% in 2Q14.

Commercial Banking reported stable revenues of €100m in 2Q15 vs. 2Q14, whereas margins on plain vanilla financing remained under pressure. New loan production of €4.2bn in 2Q15, was buoyed by corporates both in France and internationally.

The Interest Rate, Foreign Exchange, Commodities and Treasury (FIC-T) segment generated €241m in revenues in 2Q15 vs. €286m in 2Q14, reflecting tough conditions for Fixed Income and Credit activities with customers. Over 1H15, FIC-T revenues expanded 10% to €571m versus a year earlier, notably thanks to fine performances in Forex activity.

The Equities segment lifted revenues 25% in 2Q15 and 22% in 1H15, spurred by robust business both in France and internationally and by record performances on Equity Derivatives (+52% in 2Q15 vs. 2Q14).

Investment Solutions

(1)     See note on methodology and excluding the IFRIC 21 impact

Investment Solutions recorded strong growth in all three constituent businesses. Net revenues climbed 23% in 1H15 (+10% at constant exchange rates) and 19% in 2Q15 (+6% at constant exchange rates).
The cost-income ratio, excluding the IFRIC 21 impact, improved by 0.8pp in 2Q15 and by 2.2pps in 1H15 to 68.5% and 69.0%, respectively. Gross operating income also made strong progress, advancing 22% in 2Q15 and 33% in 1H15 (+19% at constant exchange rates).

Pre-tax profit progressed 27% to €275m in 2Q15 and 35% to €518m in 1H15 (+21% at constant exchange rates).

ROE after tax, after Basel III capital allocation and excluding the IFRIC 21 impact, improved 160bps to 17.0% in 2Q15 and 200bps to 16.4% in 1H15.

Asset Management posted robust net new money of €10bn in 2Q15 and €29bn for the first half as a whole. Of the first-half figure, €11bn came from European affiliates and €17bn from US affiliates. Net revenues jumped 20% to €633m in 2Q15 and 25% to €1.272bn in 1H15 (+8% at constant exchange rates).    
AuM totaled €812bn at end-June 2015 vs. €820bn at end-March 2015. The changed stemmed from the €10bn net inflow, the consolidation of DNCA (+€17bn), the partial divestment of a US money-market business (-€5bn), exchange-rate effects (-€16bn) and market movements (-€14bn). 

Insurance grew turnover by 3% to €3.0bn in 1H15. The life-insurance segment recorded a €0.7bn net inflow in 1H15, of which 45% stemmed from unit-linked policies. Unit-linked policies accounted for 19% of the €43.4bn of AuM at the end of June. Non-life insurance turnover climbed 15% in 1H15 and Personal Protection and Borrower Insurance advanced 13%.
Overall gross operating income from Insurance progressed by 14% in 1H15 vs. 1H14.

Private Banking booked €1.1bn of net inflow in 1H15, a 15% increase on 1H14, with revenues expanding by 9% over the same period. AuM amounted to €27.2bn at end-June, a 10% increase relative to year-end 2014.    

Specialized Financial Services

(1) See note on methodology and excluding the IFRIC 21 impact

Specialized Financial Services grew revenues 5% in 2Q15 vs. 2Q14 and 4% in 1H15 vs. 1H14, fueled by brisk Specialized financing activity.  

Operating expenses were well controlled at €209m, virtually unchanged from 2Q14. The cost-income ratio dropped 200bps to 63.2% in 2Q15, excluding the IFRIC 21 impact.

Gross operating income advanced 11% to €126m in 2Q15 and 10% to €233m in 1H15.

The provision for credit loss dipped 3% to €34m in 1H15.

ROE after tax, after Basel III capital allocation and excluding the IFRIC 21 impact, improved 80bps to 15.7% in 2Q15.

Specialized financing improved revenues by 9% to €203m in 2Q15, thanks notably to fine performances in Sureties and Guarantees (net revenues +29%) and Leasing (net revenues +13%).

Financial services generated €133m in revenues in 2Q15, virtually unchanged from 2Q14. Net revenues from Employee savings schemes rose 5% during the quarter, while in the Payments activity, electronic banking transactions grew 7%.

Financial Investments     
Figures excluding exceptional items ⁽¹⁾

Coface's turnover ⁽²⁾ increased 2% in both 2Q15 and 1H15 to reach €359m and €736m, respectively.

The combined ratio net of reinsurance worked out to 86.4% in 2Q15 vs. 78.2% in 2Q14. The cost ratio rose to 32.1% in 2Q15, in line with the growth in business, but remained under control at 29.8% over 1H15 as a whole. The loss ratio amounted to 52.0% in 1H15, reflecting the tougher economic context in 2Q15.

Agreement with BPI: State guarantees will be transferred for a valuation of around €90m. This cession will have a 1.4pp negative impact on ROTE (full year basis), before taking into account some operational measures. These mitigation effects will be disclosed before end-2015.

Revenues from Financial Investments were stable over 1H15 and down 7% in 2Q15, (including Corporate Data Solutions, which is being run off).

Gross operating income totaled €30m in 2Q15 vs. €42m in 2Q14.

1. See note on methodology
2. Constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates

Appendices

Note on methodology:

> 2014 figures are pro forma:

(1) of the new capital allocation to our businesses, 10% of the average Basel 3 risk weighted assets versus 9% previously. 2014 quarterly series have been restated on this new basis;

(2) as of January 1^st, 2015, application of the IFRIC 21 interpretation «Levies» regarding the accounting for tax except the income tax. This implementation leads to register taxes concerned at the date of their event and not necessarily throughout the year. These taxes are charged to our businesses;

(3) and in accordance with the application of the IFRIC 21 interpretation, the accounting of the estimated contribution to the Single Resolution Fund is registered in the first quarter of 2015 in the expenses of the Corporate Center. This item is not be charged to the business lines and is treated as an exceptional item in the financial communication disclosure.

> Business line performance using Basel 3 standards:

The performances of Natixis business lines are presented using Basel 3 standards. Basel 3 risk-weighted assets are based on CRR-CRD4 rules as published in June 26th, 2013 (including Danish compromise treatment for qualified entities).

> Annualized ROTE is computed as follows: net income (group share) - DSN net interest/average net assets after dividend - hybrid notes - intangible assets - average goodwill. This ratio include goodwill and intangible assets by business lines to determinate the ROE ratio of businesses. 

> The remuneration rate on normative capital is 3%.

> Own senior debt fair-value adjustment calculated using a discounted cash-flow model, contract by contract, including parameters such as swaps curve, and revaluation spread (based on the BPCE reoffer curve).

> Exceptional items: figures and comments on this presentation are based on Natixis and its businesses income statements excluding exceptional items detailed page 3. Natixis and its businesses income statements including exceptional items (reported data) are available in the appendix of this presentation.

> The leverage ratio is based on delegated act rules, without phase-in except for DTAs on tax loss carry forward and with the hypothesis of a roll-out for non-eligible subordinated notes under Basel 3 by eligible notes. Repos transactions with central counterparties are offset in accordance with IAS 32 rules without maturity or currency criteria.

> The cost/income ratio and the ROE excluding IFRIC 21 impact calculation takes into account by quarter one fourth of the annual duties and levies concerned by this new accounting rules

2Q15 results: from data excluding exceptional items ⁽¹⁾ to reported data

Natixis - Consolidated ⁽¹⁾

1. See note on methodology

Natixis - Breakdown by Business division in 2Q15

Corporate & Investment Banking ⁽¹⁾

Investment Solutions ⁽¹⁾

1. See note on methodology
2. Normative capital allocation methodology based on 10% of the average RWA-including goodwill and intangibles

Specialized Financial Services ⁽¹⁾

1. See note on methodology
2. Normative capital allocation methodology based on 10% of the average RWA-including goodwill and intangibles

Financial Investments ⁽¹⁾

Corporate Center ⁽¹⁾

GAPC

1. See note on methodology

Disclaimer

This media release may contain objectives and comments relating to the objectives and strategy of Natixis. Any such objectives inherently depend on assumptions, project considerations, objectives and expectations linked to future and uncertain events, transactions, products and services as well as suppositions regarding future performances and synergies.

No assurance can be given that such objectives will be realized. They are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, and are based on assumptions relating to Natixis, its subsidiaries and associates, and the business development thereof; trends in the sector; future acquisitions and investments; macroeconomic conditions and conditions in Natixis' principal local markets; competition and regulation. Occurrence of such events is not certain, and outcomes may prove different from current expectations, significantly affecting expected results. Actual results may differ significantly from those implied by such objectives.

Information in this media release relating to parties other than Natixis or taken from external sources has not been subject to independent verification, and Natixis makes no warranty as to the accuracy, fairness, precision or completeness of the information or opinions herein. Neither Natixis nor its representatives shall be liable for any errors or omissions, or for any prejudice resulting from the use of this media release, its contents or any document or information referred to herein. The figures in this media release are unaudited.

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