PARIS: Crédit Agricole SA said that net profit grew modestly in the first-quarter, as strong earnings at its investment bank and the benefits of a weaker euro were partly offset by a contribution to Europe’s new bailout fund.
The Paris-based lender, France’s second-largest listed bank by assets, said net profit rose 3% to €784 million ($878.13 million) in the three months to the end of March, from €764 million a year earlier. Revenue was up 8% at €4.36 billion from €4.06 billion.
Like many banks in the U.S. and Europe, Crédit Agricole’s earnings were lifted in the first quarter by volatile markets and higher trading, despite waves of new regulation in Europe.
Crédit Agricole’s investment bank posted a 22% jump in net profit in the quarter to €320 million, boosted by its fixed income business.
The group’s insurance and asset management business reported an 11% increase in net profit to €402 million.
In France, Crédit Agricole’s regional retail lenders contributed €363 million to the bank’s total net profit, compared with €357 million a year earlier.
In Italy, where the French bank owns local lender Cariparma, net profit rose by 70% to €39 million, as the country slowly exits one of its most prolonged recessions.
Crédit Agricole’s core tier-one ratio, which compares top-quality capital such as equity and retained earnings with risk-weighted assets, stood at 10.2% at the end of March, down from 10.4% on Jan. 14.
The bank paid €182 million into the European Union’s resolution fund, which was set up this year to ensure enough funding is available for lenders if they need to restructure or be wound down, and is designed to shield taxpayers from footing the bill for bank failures.
Rival French lender BNP Paribas SA said last week that first-quarter net profit rose 18% to €1.65 billion in the three months through March, buoyed by its investment bank and a weakening euro.
