Natixis, the corporate and investment banking and asset management arm of French mutual banking group BPCE, entered 2025 with a new leadership structure at the top of its two principal business lines. Mohamed Kallala took over as Chief Executive Officer responsible for Corporate and Investment Banking, while Philippe Setbon assumed the role of Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Asset and Wealth Management, both with effect from 1 January 2025.
The two appointments follow the departure of Stéphanie Paix, who stepped down from Natixis for health reasons. Both Kallala and Setbon report to Nicolas Namias, Chief Executive Officer of BPCE, the group holding company that owns Natixis. The new structure concentrates responsibility for Natixis's two largest revenue engines in experienced hands drawn from within the broader financial services community.
KALLALA TAKES CHARGE OF CORPORATE BANKING
Mohamed Kallala's elevation to the top of Natixis's Corporate and Investment Banking division places him at the head of a franchise that spans capital markets, structured finance, green and sustainable finance and transaction banking. CIB has been one of Natixis's most significant growth areas, and the division has built a notable position in sustainable finance in recent years, including green bonds and sustainability-linked lending.
Kallala's appointment reflects the importance BPCE attaches to maintaining continuity of leadership in the CIB business, which serves large corporates, financial institutions and sovereign clients across Europe and major international markets. His mandate includes sustaining the division's competitive positioning against other European investment banks in areas such as structured credit and real assets financing.
The CIB division's performance is closely watched within BPCE as a barometer of the group's ability to compete with larger pan-European peers. Leadership stability at the top of the division is therefore seen as a strategic priority as the group navigates a period of normalisation in deal volumes and evolving client demand.
SETBON OVERSEES WEALTH AND FUND PLATFORM
Philippe Setbon assumes responsibility for Natixis's Asset and Wealth Management division, one of Europe's largest multi-affiliate asset management platforms. The division comprises a network of specialist investment managers operating under the Natixis Investment Managers umbrella, serving institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds and high-net-worth clients globally.
Setbon's background in asset management makes him well positioned to oversee a platform that has faced, as have many of its peers, ongoing pressure from fee compression, rising competition from passive investment products and the need to demonstrate performance differentiation across its affiliate managers. The wealth management arm adds a further dimension, with demand for private banking and advisory services remaining resilient among high-net-worth clients in Europe.
The dual appointments represent BPCE's approach to managing the transition at Natixis: splitting executive accountability across two seasoned leaders rather than consolidating authority under a single replacement. Namias retains group-level oversight, and both Kallala and Setbon operate within a structure designed to preserve the operational momentum of each business line as 2025 begins. BPCE said in announcing the appointments that the new arrangement would allow each division to pursue its strategic priorities with dedicated leadership, and that the reporting structure to the group CEO provided the necessary co-ordination across Natixis's portfolio of activities. Market participants will assess in the months ahead whether the arrangement delivers the strategic focus that the group's shareholders are seeking.