Crédit Agricole’s Strengths

Chapter 1 : Our value creation

Crédit Agricole’s Strengths

CRÉDIT AGRICOLE’S STRENGTHS


In an environment facing deep changes, and a banking sector under regulatory and competitive pressures, Crédit Agricole has major assets in terms of stability and solidity, the backbone of which is its Raison d’Être.

Nearly 
30,000 directors  
who bring their expectations to the heart of the Group

PRESENT IN 47 COUNTRIES
In France, with close to
8,400 branches 
of Crédit Agricole and LCL

In Italy, with close to
1,000 branches

In other countries, with more than
1,000 branches

A COOPERATIVE AND MUTUALIST IDENTITY

More than 10 million mutual shareholders form the basis of the cooperative organisation of Crédit Agricole and make it the world’s largest cooperative and mutualist group

The mutual shareholders own the capital of the 2,417 Local Banks in the form of mutual shares; these Local Banks in turn hold the capital of the 39 Regional Banks.

According to the democratic vote “1 person = 1 vote”, each mutual shareholder has the same weight in voting in Local Bank Annual General Meetings, regardless of the amount of mutual shares held.

Nearly 30,000 directors elected each year bring their expectations within the Group’s bodies, and ensure good knowledge and consideration of customer needs

The pooling of these experiences is the heart of the mutualist model, which promotes customer-focused action.

A UNIVERSAL AND CUSTOMER-FOCUSED MODEL

Thanks to its resilient universal banking model, Crédit Agricole makes a comprehensive range of banking, specialised financial and insurance services available to all its individual customers, farmers, SMEs and small businesses, large corporates and institutions.

With the deployment of new business or capital partnerships, and the increase in collaborations between its subsidiaries, the Group is strengthening its expertise in France and internationally to meet the expectations and needs of its customers.

This diversified business model ensures secure and sustainable revenue development and provides long-term organic growth capacity for the Group.

A WIDE TERRITORIAL NETWORK

As close as possible to its customers, Crédit Agricole relies on a regional foothold and a territorial network covering rural areas, urban centres and large cities, to be accessible to all.

SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENTS

Crédit Agricole Group, with the will to inscribe its societal utility natively in all of its activities, business lines and processes, has developed its Group Project and 2022 Medium-Term Plan on the backbone of its Raison d’être.

The Group wishes to strengthen its cooperative footprint by consolidating the “living together” aspect of the regions and promoting solidarity and inclusive actions. All Group entities have committed to promoting inclusion with entry-level offers, working against over-indebtedness and encouraging entrepreneurship.

FINANCIAL STRENGTH AND MUTUAL GUARANTEE

In terms of solvency, Crédit Agricole Group ranks with the best-in-class among comparable European banks, with a CET1 ratio of 15.9% at 31 December 2019. This greatly exceeds the minimum regulatory requirement of 9.7% at 31/12/2019.

In accordance with the French Monetary and Financial Code, Crédit Agricole S.A. is responsible for taking all the necessary measures to ensure the liquidity and solvency of each member of the Crédit Agricole network and of its affiliated members, chief among them the Regional Banks and Crédit Agricole Corporate Investment Bank (CIB). Crédit Agricole S.A. also acts as the central body for the Regional Banks and in this capacity can intervene when refinancing is necessary. In addition, the Regional Banks guarantee all of Crédit Agricole S.A.’s obligations towards third party creditors under an agreement on a joint and several basis, and they also cross-guarantee each other in the event of an asset shortfall at Crédit Agricole S.A. in the course of its bankruptcy or dissolution.