Interview with Laurent Métral, General Manager of CIC Ouest, Valorial’s partner since 2016.
As a local regional bank, CIC Ouest has a network of 340 branches – including 20 corporate branches and 3 large corporate branches – spread over five regional departments: Brittany, Pays de La Loire, Poitou-Charentes, Limousin and Centre.
Our values of proximity, responsiveness and competence make CIC Ouest the bank for companies and their managers. Our capacity for innovation and expertise enable us to meet all the needs of the company, from the management of flows to the most expert arrangements in terms of company financing or support for the manager’s assets.
At the heart of the relationship, the account manager is the entrepreneur’s partner, guaranteeing the quality and efficiency of a relationship based on mutual trust.
CIC Ouest wants to be as close as possible to project leaders to support innovative entrepreneurship. By becoming a member of the Valorial Partners Club, we are particularly involved in this collective spirit of supporting the agri-food sector with all the economic players in this sector.
With our local roots and our history as a corporate bank, we will be a player in the collaborative dynamic and “network” culture proposed by Valorial to support the economic development of the areas where we are based.
Today, we talk a lot about innovation, but innovation has always been at the heart of our business. If today we are the bank of one company out of three in our territories, it’s because 10 years ago, 30 years ago, 50 years ago, we were present at the start of emerging companies, the startups of the time that are today the jewels of our region.
Financing business creation and innovative projects is part of our DNA. Our organisation, with corporate branches close to the field and decentralised decision-making powers, allows for shortened decision-making circuits to meet our clients’ expectations of responsiveness.
And the innovation that we finance for our clients, we must also be the bearers of that innovation. Bringing innovation into our relationships with our customers to offer them the best of both worlds: the physical world with the account manager, who steers the relationship, complemented by the digital, connected, multi-channel world in line with changes in our customers’ behaviour, is a real challenge for our businesses.
Laurent Métral - CIC Ouest
Managing Director
(+33)0 240 129 191
www.cic.fr