Invest in France Agency international Office

Matthijs Aler, Managing Director of BinckBank France

Can you briefly describe the activities of BinckBank?

BinckBank is an online broker that offers its clients access to equity and derivatives markets worldwide, at very low prices. Our clients are foremost private investors that execute their trades independent of financial advisors or asset managers. The company was founded in 2000 in Amsterdam, Netherlands and has branch offices in Belgium since 2006 and in France since 2007. The primary activity is the execution of our clients’ stock market orders. Secondly, BinckBank processes all operations that are related to investments - like dividends, coupons etc. - as administrator of the clients' securities accounts.

When did you choose to set up your business in France and why?

We estimated that of all Western-European countries, France had the most to offer to BinckBank. Even though the market was and is extremely competitive there are still chances for new brokers like BinckBank. The French population loves the stock market and investment products and this popularity is growing rapidly. The fact that the French stock market forms part of the Euronext group was also convenient.

What advantages does France have to offer?

First of all France has a large consumer market. 64 million consumers, of which 7 million have an investment account (PEA or regular). More than 2 million of these investors are within our target group. This makes the French market 2 to 3 times larger than our traditional home market, the Netherlands. Second of all, this is a good thing for a cost-conscient company like BinckBank; French companies often have a high cost basis and therefore have to charge higher prices.

Can you tell us about BinckBank development plans for France?

BinckBank wants to achieve a sustainable competitive position on the French market. We have a long term engagement and know that it will take time to gain the confidence of consumers and to build brand awareness. The office of BinckBank in Paris will grow as the client-base grows and we expect to be around 20 a year from now.

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