Frankfurt Crédit Agricole and Société Générale have left the corona crisis behind. The two big French banks have significantly increased their profits over the past year. They shared that on Thursday morning.
Société Générale, for example, posted a record profit of 5.6 billion euros. Last year, the bank had to accept a loss of 258 million euros – the first shortfall in decades. The year 2021 was a milestone for the Group, said CEO Frederic Oudea. They would have achieved the best financial result in their history. We are also confident for 2022.
The main reasons for the jump in profits are increased income and lower risk provisions for loans at risk. Compared to the previous year, revenues increased by 16.7 percent to about EUR 25.8 billion, and loan loss provisions decreased by almost 80 percent to EUR 700 million.
The Bank also benefited from the significant recovery in the equity business. Compared to the previous year, revenues in this area increased by 147 percent to EUR 3.15 billion.
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Half of the annual profit, adjusted for special effects, is now to go to the shareholders. To this end, Société Générale is planning a dividend of EUR 1.65 per share and intends to repurchase its own shares for EUR 915 million.
Crédit Agricole can more than double profit
Crédit Agricole has also significantly exceeded its profit target. The institute was able to more than double the profit compared to the previous year to about 5.8 billion euros.
Crédit Agricole also benefited from a reduction in loan loss provisions of almost 40 percent to around EUR 1.5 billion. Revenues increased by 9.1 percent year-on-year to about 22.6 billion euros.
Due to the better-than-expected result, CEO Philippe Brassac announced in June that he would publish a new plan for the years up to 2025. Shareholders are to participate in the improved profitability with a dividend of EUR 1.05 per share. This includes 0.20 euros, which could not be paid for 2019.
The results of the two major French banks in 2021 are well received on the markets: the shares of Société Générale are up by almost five percent in the morning in Paris, the shares of Crédit Agricole are also up by 1.6 percent. Crédit Agricole is France’s second largest listed bank after BNP Paribas and ahead of Société Générale.
With agency material
More about the topic: BNP Paribas achieves a record profit of almost ten billion euros in 2021.