Crédit Agricole

Crédit Agricole, sometimes called the “Green Bank” because of its historical ties to farming, is a French network of cooperative and mutual banks comprising the 39 Crédit Agricole Regional Banks. In 1990, it became an international full-service banking group. It is listed through its holding company, Crédit Agricole S.A., on Euronext Paris’ first market and is part of the CAC 40 stock market index. In 2013, the Crédit Agricole Group reported revenues of €26.4 billion.

Corporate governance

Crédit Agricole has a three-tier structure, comprising the Local Banks, the Regional Banks (and their branches and equity investments) and Crédit Agricole S.A. (and its subsidiaries). The Local and Regional Banks are cooperative companies. Crédit Agricole S.A. is a joint-stock company. Crédit Agricole is one of the leading cooperative companies in the world.

Local Banks

The 2,509 Local Banks form the foundation of Crédit Agricole. They have 7.4 million stakeholders (December 2013), who are both clients and owners of the share capital (through ownership shares) of the Local Banks, in accordance with the cooperative governance principle.
The Local Banks hold the bulk of the capital of the Regional Banks. At the annual general meetings of the Local Banks, which attract around 500,000 participants every year, the stakeholders appoint over 32,000 volunteer directors.

Regional Banks

Crédit Agricole’s Regional Banks are cooperative entities and fully-fledged banks, offering a wide range of financial products and services to their 20 million clients (end-2008). They boast a network of some 7,200 branches and 12,000 ATMs, plus more than 7,000 in-store cash points, which provide Crédit Agricole customers with basic banking services. Some Regional Banks have merged to improve their financial strength and competitiveness, with the total number of Regional Banks falling from 94 to 39 between 1988 and 2008.
Preventing exclusion from banking services
To prevent customers affected by a personal event, such as a death or unemployment, from being excluded from banking services, 30 Regional Banks have set up Point Passerelle centres, which provide a friendly ear, mediation and support for clients looking for help to get out of a difficult situation. Caisse Régionale du Nord-Est first introduced the system in 1997.
Promoting employment for people with disabilities
Through an association set up to promote the employment of people with disabilities within Crédit Agricole (HECA), the Crédit Agricole Regional Banks devote resources to the recruitment, integration and continued employment of disabled workers. Measures include workstation modifications, transport facilities and training. Since a lack of training makes it harder for people with disabilities to get work, Crédit Agricole has set up work/study training programmes to enable people who have their high school diploma to receive post-secondary qualifications. The goal was to recruit more than 800 disabled persons between 2006 and end-2010, and by end-2009, more than 360 permanent contracts and 670 work/study contracts had been signed. Former Miss France runner-up Sophie Vouzelaud, who has been deaf from birth, is HECA’s official ambassador.
Promoting the cooperative model
The Regional Banks help to promote the cooperative model locally through a variety of initiatives, such as the Perspectives Mutualistes conference series (Pau in 2006, Angers in 2007, Reims in 200831, Orléans in 2009), and by issuing special bank cards for stakeholders.