The Crédit Agricole banking group almost doubled its net profit last year, according to its results published Thursday, driven by the good performance of its activity and a drop in the cost of risk.
These “
very good results
”, according to Philippe Brassac, managing director of the Crédit Agricole SA group, allow the company to achieve its objectives for the end of 2022 a year in advance.
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Net profit reached 9.1 billion euros in 2021, a record.
In the fourth quarter alone, the bank multiplied it by more than four to reach 2.35 billion euros, more than its competitor BNP Paribas.
The group, which brings together the regional banks of Crédit Agricole and its other activities united within its listed subsidiary Crédit Agricole SA, is on the heels of the bank on rue d'Antin throughout the year, which announced a profit on Tuesday. slightly higher annual net income, around 9.5 billion euros.
Net banking income (NBI), the equivalent of turnover for the sector, was 36.82 billion euros last year, up 9.6% compared to 2020. “
These results are excellent and are ultimately the translation of our commercial results,
” said Dominique Lefebvre, chairman of the group's board of directors, during a press conference.
Economic rebound
Like other French establishments, the mutual bank has taken full advantage of the economic rebound initiated since the end of 2020, leaving behind the worst of the health crisis.
The regional banks have also recruited more than 1.22 million new customers in France, to which are added 335,000 new customers at LCL, the retail network in France of Crédit Agricole SA.
The improvement in the economic situation resulted in a sharp drop in the cost of risk, ie the provisions made to deal with any defaults on repayment by its borrowing customers.
This cost of risk thus fell last year by almost 50% to 1.849 billion euros.
The listed entity Crédit Agricole SA ended the year 2021 with a bang, multiplying its income by more than ten in the fourth quarter compared to the same period the previous year.
Over the year 2021, it brought in 5.84 billion euros, above analysts' forecasts.
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Acquisitions and dividend up
The bank benefited last year from the entry into its fold of the Italian bank Credito Valtellinese (Creval), acquired via a takeover bid (OPA) launched in November 2020 and completed last April.
Its subsidiary specializing in asset management Amundi also offered Lyxor at the end of the year to Société Générale, for an amount of 825 million euros.
The Crédit Agricole group relies on a “
universal local bank
” model , offering all the different banking businesses while maintaining a strong presence throughout France.
It prides itself on being the leading financing body for the French economy, particularly in the renewable energy segment, but also the leading private employer in France and the leading tax and social contributor in France.
At the end of this exceptional year, the listed entity indicated that it wanted to pay a dividend of 1.05 euros per share, a level not seen for more than 15 years.
A large part of the dividends goes to the regional mutuals.
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"
We have more than 7 billion euros of retained earnings which can naturally be reinjected into development, the economy, the territories and above all into support for an urgent transition that we have to support in our environment
", underlined Philippe Brassac.
Finally, the " hard
" capital ratio
, the CET1, a key indicator that measures the ability to overcome a possible crisis, rose to 17.5% for the group as a whole, well above regulatory requirements. .