9. The bank of common sense (Credit Agricole)

The Bank of Common Sense (Credit Agricole)

Crédit Agricole, sometimes called the “Green Bank” because of its historical ties to farming, is a French network of cooperative and mutual banks comprising the 39 Crédit Agricole Regional Banks. In 1990, it became an international full-service banking group. It is listed through its holding company, Crédit Agricole S.A., on Euro next Paris’ first market and is part of the CAC 40 stock market index. In 2013, the Crédit Agricole Group reported revenues of €26.4 billion.

Credit Agricole is in the financial services and banking industry. It is founded in 1885, with its headquarters in Montrouge, France. The bank provides its services to the worldwide market. The big men of the company include Jean-Paul Chifflet the CEO of Credit Agricole SA. Jean-Marie Sander chairman of Credit Agricole SA. The bank offers the following banking services: credit cards, consumer banking, corporate banking, investment banking, mortgage loans, private banking, wealth management and asset management. Credit Agricole as of 2013 has revenue of 31.178 billion euro, operating income of 11.484 billion euro, profit of 5.5 billion euro, total assets of 1,536.9 billion euro and total equity 47.889 billion. Employees 150,000 as of 2013. The bank’s subsidiaries include LCL Le Crédit Lyonnais, Crédit agricole CIB, Cariparma, Amundi, BforBank Website www.credit-agricole.com. French farmers in the latter 19^th century struggled to obtain long-term, flexible, reasonably-priced credit. There were several attempts to set up farming banks 1861, but none was successful.

The beginning

Jules Meline spearheaded the creation of the first Local Banks. Crédit Agricole can trace its history back to the end of the 19th Century, and specifically to the Act of 1884 establishing the freedom of professional association, which authorised, among other things, the creation of farm unions and the foundation of local mutual banks. Société de Crédit Agricole was created on 23 February 1885 at Salins-les-Bains in the district of Poligny in the Jura region. It was the first of its kind in France. In the early years, business was made up exclusively of short-term loans provided as advances on harvests, enabling farmers to live more comfortably. Medium-term and long-term loans were added later, making it possible to buy equipment and livestock.

With some regions becoming isolated owing to the War, the need for a central bank to regulate business became more apparent, especially as Crédit Agricole was asked to provide financing to rebuild farming operations damaged during the conflict. In the 1920s, the bank continued to build its nationwide coverage and expand its business activities, notably by introducing loans to small-scale rural craftsmen in 1920, financing rural electrification and financing local authorities in rural areas from 1923. The Office National de Crédit Agricole was thus set up, with Louis Tardy as its Chief Executive Officer. In 1926, the institution was renamed Caisse Nationale de Crédit Agricole (CNCA), and Crédit Agricole’s institutional structure was complete. The payment mechanisms used helped to make cheques and bank accounts more popular in the countryside. 

Crédit Agricole in the 21st Century

The headquarters of Crédit Lyonnais, which was acquired by the Crédit Agricole Group in 2003. The 21st Century saw the group continue to diversify its business line-up. Finaref was acquired in 2003. In the same year, Crédit Agricole successfully completed its friendly takeover of Crédit Lyonnais after a market battle was triggered by the government’s decision to auction off its stake in Crédit Lyonnais in December 2002. The two banks were combined in 2003 and 2004, which led to the different business lines being grouped into subsidiaries. This included the creation of Calyon in 2004 from the merger of the corporate and investment banking activities of Crédit Lyonnais and Crédit Agricole Indosuez. Crédit Lyonnais focused on retail banking and was rebranded as LCL in August 2005.

Credit Agricole trading overview

The group’s acquisitions enabled it to strengthen its leadership in French retail banking, expand its position in corporate and investment banking and build up its international network of branches and subsidiaries. By now, the group was the number-one bank in France with 28% of the domestic market, the global number-two by revenues and number-ten by profits, according to Fortune magazine, and number-15 worldwide according to Forbes rankings.