Integrated Report 2020-2021

2. Meeting the challenges of tomorrow

Anticipating long-term societal and environmental changes

Uncertainties in customers’ life paths
  • Demographic changes in Western countries (ageing populations, rise in dependency, diversification of family models and forms of employment)
  • Accidents and more heterogeneous life paths, growing vulnerability of a part of customers, notably the middle classes
OPPORTUNITIES
  • Reiteration of the universal bank model, attentive to customers’ concerns and expectations, over the long-term and regardless of their life situation
  • Enhancement of knowledge of customers to better support them
RISKS
  • Higher credit/delinquency risk
  • Risk assessment models to be revised
  • Need to better identify customer expectations with respect to environmental and social aspects
OUR ACTIONS
  • Roll-out of the Youzful platform designed for young people to help them in their career orientation and job search
  • CA CF supported 5,000 people in financial difficulty and launched workshops to educate about budgeting
A greater social divide
  • Regional divides within countries creating inequality
  • Jobs and growth concentrated in urban areas
  • Loss of purchasing power, feeling of impoverishment of the middle class
OPPORTUNITIES
  • Broad regional coverage through the Group’s different networks
  • Development of banking, social and entrepreneurial accessibility
RISKS
  • Decline in banking margins in certain geographic areas
OUR ACTIONS
  • Amundi’s Social Impact fund dedicated to reducing social inequality
  • First issue of social bonds by Crédit Agricole S.A. for €1bn
An acceleration in climate change and biodiversity deterioration
  • Global commitment to combat climate change and preserve biodiversity
  • Reinforcement of regulatory restrictions on the energy transition and protection of biodiversity
  • Growing awareness of the climate emergency
OPPORTUNITIES
  • Development of investment and financing solutions to support institutional customers, corporates and small businesses in adopting a low-carbon trajectory
  • Additional products and services to enable consumers to adapt their behaviour to an economy that consumes less energy, in line with the Paris Agreement, and put their savings to the service of environmental and social issues
  • Financial innovation in response to the new economic models (sustainable agriculture in particular)
RISKS
  • Rise in costs and economic losses related to the effects of climate change, for customers or for the Group
  • Uncertainty over the nature and timetable of the necessary transition to a low-carbon economy
OUR ACTIONS
  • Launch of a Climate fund to support customers’ energy transition
  • Partnership of CA CF with bicycle, electric motorcycle and solar panel manufacturers
  • Creation of the climate transition score to measure the level of commitment and ability of customers to adapt their economic model to the challenges of the climate transition
Main SDGs* concerned

* Sustainable Development Goals.