Credit Agricole joins French rivals with surprise Q2 profit jump
2022.08.04 08:38
FILE PHOTO: A Credit Agricole logo is seen outside a bank office in Reze, near Nantes, France, June 20, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
By Julien Ponthus
PARIS (Reuters) – Credit Agricole (OTC:CRARY) joined French rivals BNP Paribas (OTC:BNPQY) and Societe Generale (OTC:SCGLY) in announcing on Thursday better-than-expected quarterly profits amid record activity in its investment banking division.
Net income came in at 1.98 billion euros ($2 billion), a figure about 800 million euros higher than the average estimate of analysts.
Analysts also underestimated revenues, which rose 8.8% to 6.33 billions euros, roughly 10% higher than expected.
While activity grew across business lines including retail banking, insurance and wealth management, the bank’s management said investment banking shone particularly during the quarter.
Underlying revenues for the Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) division jumped 22% to 1.58 billion euros, a performance which the bank said reflected “record commercial activity, in a context of high volatility and high customer hedging needs”.
Fixed income, currencies and commodity (FICC) trading jumped about 37% while “buoyant” investment and equity activities rose 12.8% even as financial markets experienced one of the worst first-halves in living memory.
A sharp drop in the cost of risk – money set aside for failing loans – also helped lift the group’s profits after provisions were taken during the first quarter to compensate for the potential economic fallout of the war in Ukraine.
