PARIS (Reuters) – Credit Agricole joined French and European rivals in reporting higher than expected profits in the third quarter, driven mainly by a rise in corporate loans and consumer finance revenues which more than offset money withdrawals at its asset manager Amundi.
Credit Agricole’s net income in the third quarter came in at 1.35 billion euros ($1.35 billion), down 3.6% from a year ago but above a 1.17 billion average forecast in a Refinitiv analyst poll, thanks also to some one-off items such as the sale of the La Medicale insurance business.
Amundi, which is majority owned by the bank, last month posted net outflows of 12.9 billion euros in the third quarter, hurt by weak markets and concern about the economic outlook following the war in Ukraine.
But Credit Agricole, like most European banks, managed to take advantage of rising interest rates to post a strong increase in corporate loans, up by 15.4%, and consumer finance, which rose 12.6% in the quarter.
Capital markets and investment banking revenues, which have boosted rivals as they benefited from market volatility, fell by 5.7% in the quarter however.
“Globally we have a lower risk profile than rivals, which means we may profit less from volatility,” said Credit Agricole deputy CEO Xavier Musca.
In a separate statement, SAS La Boetie, the holding company which is main shareholder of Credit Agricole SA, said it would buy up to one billion euros of the bank’s shares by the end of the first half of 2023 in a move that will likely help the shares’ price. The bank said that would not increase the holding company’s stake in Credit Agricole above 65%.
($1 = 0.9992 euros)
(Reporting by Matthieu Protard and Silvia Aloisi)
