By Mathieu Rosemain
PARIS (Reuters) -France’s Credit Agricole SA said on Thursday its third-quarter profit rose 10%, beating expectations but helped by a revaluation gain on its increased stake in Italy’s Banco BPM and stronger investment banking revenues.
Net income came in at 1.84 billion euros ($2.15 billion) in the three months to end-September, up 10.2% from a year earlier and above a company-compiled analyst consensus of 1.76 billion euros.
Without the BPM-related gain, the bank’s quarterly net income would have fallen slightly versus last year, Chief Financial Officer Clotilde L’Angevin told reporters.
Credit Agricole said its numbers also benefited from taking full ownership of asset services company CACEIS by buying out Santander in July.
Total revenues rose 5.6% to 6.85 billion euros, while loan-loss provisions increased 13% to 489 million euros.
A KEY PLAYER IN ITALY’S M&A WAVE
Credit Agricole’s performance was boosted by a 245 million-euro revaluation of its near-20% stake in BPM.
The French lender has taken an increasingly prominent role in the consolidation wave sweeping Italian banking by hiking its stake in BPM and seeking regulatory approval to lift it to 29.9%.
Credit Agricole representatives have held talks with the Italian government about a possible tie-up, Reuters reported last month.
“We are attentive to everything that may happen,” CEO Olivier Gavalda told reporters on Thursday, without commenting further.
Banco BPM CEO Giuseppe Castagna said last month that a merger with Credit Agricole’s Italian operations represented the “clearest opportunity” for his bank, though he noted other options, including Monte dei Paschi.
Italy, Credit Agricole’s largest market outside France accounting for 15% of reported profit in 2024, has been central to the bank’s growth strategy.
INVESTMENT BANK GROWS
The bank’s corporate and investment banking division delivered record revenue, up 3.3% to 1.58 billion euros.
Trading in fixed income, currencies and commodities rose 6.3%, beating bigger French rival BNP Paribas but below Societe Generale and some Wall Street peers.
Credit Agricole’s domestic retail unit, LCL, posted revenue of 982 million euros, stable from a year earlier.
Net interest income in France, or the difference between what banks earn on loans and pay out for deposits, was steady too.
The bank’s CET1 capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength, dipped to 11.7% from 11.9% at end-June.
Credit Agricole will announce a new strategic plan on November 18, after achieving 2025 targets a year early.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Mark Potter)
