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The big French banks are smiling; despite the pandemic, they made record profits in 2021. BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale totaled 24 billion euros in profits last year.
Nearly 9.5 billion euros in profits for BNP Paribas, just over 9 billion for the Crédit Agricole group and 5.6 billion euros for Societe Generale. The three main French banks are cashing in historic profits. Like many European banks, they benefited from the strong economic recovery. By increasing their credit volume, they received significant commissions.
Companies and individuals took advantage of low interest rates to get into debt. The large French establishments, which have subsidiaries all over the world, have also benefited from the mergers and acquisitions of multinationals, which reached record figures in 2021. Nearly 5,800 billion dollars, a global market up 63% compared to compared to 2020.
This frenzy should continue in 2022, say economists. In the medium term, raising key central bank rates to counter inflation could indeed boost the sector’s profits.