With extremely diverse experience within BNP Paribas in mainland France, On February 1, Issa Imraan took over as general manager of a company in excellent health, which positions itself at the forefront of sustainable finance. The Reunion bank has just acquired a green desk, a team specialized in financing CSR and ecological transition projects. By appointing a 42-year-old local as its head, BNP Paribas affirms its roots in Reunion during this period of economic and societal change.
Meeting Leader : Are you the first general director of Reunionese origin of BNP Paribas? ?
Issa Imran : To my knowledge, oui. I even think that the appointment of a Reunion Islander to head a local bank is a first in Reunion Island.. There is, within BNP Paribas, this desire to promote Reunion executives who have climbed the ranks internally and can claim positions of high responsibility, whether they are executives who have left for mainland France, as is my case, or stayed on the island. Being from Reunion brings knowledge of the territory, of its economic fabric, of its population, to cultivate, of its specificities in terms of activities that cannot be carried out by a leader who does not know the island.
What route did you follow? ?
I am from Saint-Denis. After obtaining a master's degree in Economics and Management at the University of Reunion, I continued my studies in Bordeaux in economics and international finance, before joining the BNP Paribas group in 2004. I started my career in Poitiers within a group of agencies. Then I was called to headquarters in Paris where I held different positions for eighteen years. First, to the group's general inspection as auditor and head of mission. Then I was in charge of credit granting policies, field that led me to work on innovation financing, of social entrepreneurship, real estate loans and consumer loans. I was then appointed regional sales director in charge of supporting SMEs in Île-de-France., i.e. seven business centers with a team working on structured financing, supporting businesses internationally, the trade, the cash, restructuring clients in difficulty. The last mission entrusted to me, before my appointment in Reunion, was crisis management for commercial banking in France. I had to coordinate major crises. During the Covid-19 crisis, For example, I implemented the health protocol for all 20,000 bank employees in mainland France. In this position, I was also responsible for the security of people and property, of the internal and external fraud prevention department and the management of the internal code of conduct, that is to say respect between colleagues. I was preparing commercial banking in France against the effects of the potential energy crisis when I was appointed to the general management of BNP Paribas Réunion..
How is the bank you have just taken over? ?
We had a very good year in 2022. One of our best years in ten years. Business continues to do well at the start of 2023. We support many projects. Our activity reflects the dynamism of the Reunion economy. Business leaders have many investment projects, of development. CSR and ecological transition projects are also increasing. Our bank is particularly well prepared to meet all these expectations.
What are the strengths of BNP Paribas Réunion in this period of changing economic practices? ?
First of all, there is our roots in Reunion. I remind you that we are a historic bank, established in Reunion since 1927 ! Then BNP Paribas Réunion, Today there are 200 employees committed on a daily basis to serving all of our customers. : individuals, VSE-SME professionals, large companies and private banking clients. It is also a territorial network : we have 15 agencies including a specialized agency for professionals. Our private banking center has several branches, and our corporate business center also has two. This business center contains a center specializing in financing innovation as well as a center intended to support real estate professionals.. At the beginning of February, a green desk specializing in the financing of CSR and ecological transition projects has completed this system. We also rely on two complementary players : Arval for the vehicle purchase financing offer and Factor in corporate factoring. We have a very good team, dynamic, experienced and very committed to serving our customers and supporting the Reunion economy.
What is the role of the green desk ?
It implements both a financing and advisory approach to help business leaders finance their CSR projects or take this dimension into account in their development projects.. Green desks make up a national network : each BNP Paribas business center has its own. They form a community of representatives specially trained to support and finance this type of project.. Their network relies on technical partners to, For example, measure the carbon footprint of a company, of an activity, of a project. On the financial plan, this approach is based on subsidized interest rates to support CSR projects. BNP Paribas mobilizes funds intended specifically to finance CSR. A whole new specialized support and financing system is currently being deployed.
BNP Paribas presents itself as the bank of sustainable finance ?
Our CSR financing policy has accelerated. It will very soon take a central place in our activity. We are in the process of integrating it into our daily work, including in the granting of credits. When it comes to responsible savings, it's already the case. The green desk serving businesses is another example. And this is only the beginning. Our role as committed bankers clearly becomes to support the population of Reunion and business leaders in their ecological transition projects.. This approach is now part of our operation, of our reasoning, training our teams.
What are the actions of the bank itself in terms of CSR ?
We have our own targets for reducing our carbon footprint (-10% in 2025 and neutrality in 2050). For exemple, we have just completed the complete electrification of our vehicle fleet. Other action : we support female entrepreneurship. I recently signed a charter of commitment to support women in their takeover and business creation projects.. We have been doing this for several years now and we have renewed this commitment. We are present alongside the associative sector. BNP Paribas supports integration projects in disadvantaged neighborhoods to facilitate the inclusion of young people. We have also just renewed our commitment to the Entreprendre pour savoir association., which develops a pedagogy of mini-business projects in middle and high schools. Point important, we relay the Banlieues project, driven by the 
BNP Paribas Foundation. In this context, we are launching a call for projects from the Reunion Island community. We also stand alongside the sports community : we are the historic partner of the Open international des Brisants, the famous beach tennis tournament which takes place this month.
BNP Paribas unveiled its 2022-2025 GTS strategic plan last year (Gross Technology Sustainability). How is it available locally? ?
This strategic plan includes two major axes. BNP Paribas Réunion will become a more digital bank. This is the first axis. A major migration project for our IT system is being carried out in May. It will allow us to digitalize our services. Overseas, this progressive migration begins with Reunion. Our customers will be able to carry out the majority of current operations independently and instantly thanks to an application whose functionalities will locally be very close to those offered in mainland France.. We will dematerialize bank statements : they will be available in a secure space to which our customers will have access. Finally, we will align our prices with those charged by BNP Paribas in mainland France. The other major component of the strategic plan, This is the CSR we have just talked about : supporting our clients in their sustainable finance projects in favor of a low-carbon economy.
