Having joined the LCL Group almost twenty years ago, Mr. Laurent François has managed LCL Monaco since a few months ago.
What is your background?
I joined the LCL group in 1996 and have held various positions in corporate finance and human resources management. My last mission was Businesses Director with LCL, Champagne Ardennes and Burgundy region. That was a very interesting, varied position with a highly diverse customer base: winegrowers, of course, and farmers but also many company managers and heads of industry. That region still has historical industries…
How would you define LCL in Monaco?
First and foremost it is a historical bank, as it has been operating in Monaco since 1900.
I believe LCL is the only bank to have 4 branches in Monaco, which shows the strength of our establishment. We are a ‘universal’ bank, that is to say we work with private individuals and professionals, providing private banking services and corporate banking services. LCL is everyone’s bank and we support 15,000 clients; they include more than one in five companies in Monaco, and we are extremely proud of that and pleased about it. Our ambition is to continue to support the financing of the local economy.
Who are your core customers?
Monegasque residents and employees working in Monaco. But our strategy consists of maintaining the development of all customer areas: our professional clients, artisans, traders and self-employed professionals, but also medium-sized and large businesses. They can benefit from all the services a bank can offer, thanks to the support of the LCL Group.
What are your first impressions of the Monaco financial centre?
The economy seems very dynamic to me, the market is sound and the property sector booming. Monaco has a real economic fabric, which is not necessarily known on the face of things but has favourably surprised me a lot. The environment is characteristic, due to the narrowness of the territory, but I feel that it is very open. People mix easily, and relations with the civil service and the institutions are straightforward and direct.
Moreover, it seems to me that initiatives such as professional certification of the financial centre players are a move in the right direction – towards increasing the skill of our colleagues.
Finally, the pattern of supervision in Monaco is very important, as SICCFIN demonstrates. A strengthening of control procedures is necessary, for international harmonisation. It can only benefit the financial centre. LCL has always worked with full transparency, in a way that seemed compatible with what we foresaw regarding the development of the control requirements.
