Page 71 - Code de conduite et d'éthique

The Code in practice The trust of our customers, cooperative shareholders, employees and society at large is gained and consolidated through day-to-day relationships, behaviors and – at times – difficult decisions that each of us is required to make in the pursuit of his or her professional activities. It is important to give employees benchmarks to help them discern what is the right decision to make in the face of contradictory motivations. The aim of this Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards is to provide every employee with help in making a decision when he or she is faced with a dilemma that makes it difficult to identify the long-term interest of the customer or of his or her company*. By providing a Group perspective, it supplements any other in- house codes of conduct or charters adopted by the Group’s various entities. Employees must at all times find meaning to their professional activities. The certainty that they have made a fair decision, in accordance with the law and the values of their company, drives motivation and a sense of fulfillment. This code of conduct must help them to exercise this discernment and to come out of their isolation when they need to ask questions or express concern. Provide employees with benchmarks to make the right decision Legal obligations represent a first benchmark, of critical importance in choosing the right option. There exist – as is proper – a large and varied number of these obligations imposed to guarantee the efficiency and robustness of the banking system. Banks have also adopted internal regulations that supplement or clarify these mechanisms. In the event of uncertainty about their legal obligations, about the application of a rule, employees must be able to quickly find the information or advice they need within their company, especially from the ethics officer. But legal or regulatory obligations do not always provide a satisfactory answer given the rich diversity of situations in which employees are liable to find themselves. Ultimately, it is up to the individual employee to exercise judgment about the consequences of their decisions for the different direct or indirect stakeholders, the medium- and long-term implications of these decisions and their compliance with the values defended by the company. This Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards is designed to provide all employees with these essential benchmarks.It presents the commitments made by Groupe BPCE in its capacity as a major player in the life of the economy and society at large, on the basis of which it accepts to be judged both within and outside the company. This code describes the rules of conduct derived from it, illustrated by concrete situations in which employees may well find themselves. * The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards applies to all Groupe BPCE entities, on the basis of the scope of consolidation defined in Groupe BPCE's Registration Document. . GCode of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Groupe BPCE/ 33