BrazilBPCE Group and Eurogroup Consulting launch joint venture BPCE Partenaire Conseil
French banking group BPCE Group has launched a new management consulting business, teaming up with Eurogroup Consulting to establish the new venture.
Setup as a joint venture, BPCE Partenaire Conseil will support the different entities of BPCE Group, including Banques Populaires, Caisses d’Epargne, Banque Palatine and Oney, and their clients such as SMEs, mid-caps and institutions with their most pressing organisational and digital transformations.
The new consulting business comes in response to high demand from BPCE Group companies for strategic guidance and support with the range of challenges they face. Instead of turning to external consulting firms, the group favoured setting up an own consultancy wing that brings together proven advisory consulting excellence (brought by Eurogroup Consulting) and deep knowledge of BPCE Group specifics.
With over 35 million customers – individuals, professionals, companies, investors and local government bodies – around the world, BPCE Group is the second-largest banking group in France. The group has over 100,000 staff working from offices in multiple countries, and in home base France, its offices span all corners of country.
BPCE Group said that BPCE Partenaire Conseil has been specifically designed to provide a highly tailored and regional-focused offering to its entities.
“The creation of BPCE Partenaire Conseil responds to the dual expectation of proximity and expertise by providing access to consulting teams that will operate at as close as possible to customers, in order to enable managers to make informed decisions and seize new opportunities to develop their business,” said Hélène Madar, CEO of Retail Banking and Insurance at Groupe BPCE.
“By choosing to build teams based in the regions, we are ensuring that we develop consulting services that fully incorporate the territorial dynamics of our banking entities. There is no equivalent banking offer on the market.”
Teaming up with Eurogroup Consulting
BPCE Partenaire Conseil will be setup 50-50 with Eurogroup Consulting, one of France’s largest homegrown management consulting firms. The firm has around 400 employees in France, and is a recognised leader in the banking sector.
The goal is to launch BPCE Partenaire Conseil at the end of this quarter with a team of 30, and eventually build that out to over 100 consultants by the end of 2025. The ambition is to grow to a 200-person business by 2030, and by then have carried out more than 3,000 projects.
Key services that will be offered include supporting with strategy development, business model transformation, optimizing operations, re-engineering processes, business continuity management, growth and innovation, and integration of ESG principles.
Commenting on the move, Gilles Bonnenfant, President of Eurogroup Consulting, said: “Eurogroup Consulting is committed to help BPCE Group launch a unique consulting offer to serve entities at the heart of our territories. We are pooling our strengths, expertise, knowledge of ecosystems and sectors with the ambition of contributing to ever more competitive and sustainable French economy.”
Joint ventures in consulting
Local media have described the partnership as a pioneering move in the French market, with such joint venture tie-ups between large corporates and consulting firms a rare feat.
Beyond France, there are a number of examples to be found, such as the globally-oriented joint ventures between Lufthansa and McKinsey & Company (born in Germany), and KLM and Boston Consulting Group (born in the Netherlands), while in Germany, BMW for instance has a longstanding joint venture with H&Z Management Consulting focused on commercial excellence.
