Credit Agricole Says Its Profits for Q3 2021 Beat Expectations

Credit Agricole Says Its Profits for Q3 2021 Beat Expectations

But its revenue in capital markets was down compared to its main competitors like Societe Generale.

Credit Agricole, a major French international banking group, reported on Wednesday that its third-quarter profits for 2021 surpassed its expectations. According to Reuters, the reason can be attributed to the lower coronavirus-related provisions for bad loans, although the bank lagged rivals within the capital markets sector.

Revenue across such unit was down 18.7%, said Credit Agricole, compared with the 8.4% surge witnessed at Societe Generale and 1.2% in BNP Paribas. Still, Philippe Brassac, Chief Executive Officer of the French international banking group, clarified that they have no plans to change its strategy in the sphere as the pandemic crisis was not over yet. “It is a matter of long-term policy on our side,” he said.

Other metrics unveiled that Credit Agricole had a rise on its net income of 43.5% during the third quarter to EUR 1.40 billion, which beat forecast set at EUR 1.23 billion according to a survey conducted by Refinitiv. “There is no reason today to change our target,” Brassac commented.

Moreover, in the retail banking unit, revenue in Credit Agricole was up 5.1% in France and skyrocketed 32.5% in Italy, where the lender acquired Creval, a domestic lender. Lastly, corporate and investment banking revenue was down 3.7% for the French international banking group, as fixed-income, commodities, and currency trading plummeted by 23.7%.

Societe Generales Partnership with Kyriba

In June, one of its major competitors, Societe Generale, announced that it had formed a partnership with Kyriba, a cloud-based finance, and IT solutions provider, to launch a new treasury management solution including payment automation and fraud management functionalities.

The new solution aims to facilitate Societe Generales corporate clients and their subsidiaries. In addition, the French banking giant is planning to make treasury management smooth and easier through the cloud-based solution. The bank highlighted different functionalities in the upcoming solution, including payment automation, fraud management, and real-time monitoring of treasury positions.