France: commitments from banks, insurers, pension funds down 43%

Greg Gille
@unquotenews
11 April 2013

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France's lacklustre fundraising figures for 2012 highlight the continued retreat of traditional LPs, such as banks, insurers and pension funds, according to new research by industry trade body Afic.

Put together, the commitments from banks, insurers and pension funds to French private equity vehicles dropped by 43% between 2011 and 2012 – an even steeper fall than fundraising figures as a whole, which went down by 22%.

Pension funds were the most impacted LP group, with commitments down by 55% compared to 2011 figures. Looking at the longer-term picture reveals that both pension funds and banks have fled the asset class en masse since 2009: commitments by both LP groups to French private equity funds have plummeted by 79% between 2008 and 2012.

The two glimmers of hope come from public entities and corporates, although they won't be enough to counterbalance the progressive disappearance of traditional financial institutions. State-backed entities contributed €1.1bn in 2012, up by a third compared to 2011, while corporates' commitments quadrupled to €288m.