Retail banking helps French banks’ profits
(6 November 2015 – France) French banks Société Générale and Crédit Agricole have both reported jumps in Q3 net profit.
Société Générale said net profit rose 28 percent to €1.13 billion (A$1.7 billion) in the three months through September from €882 million a year earlier. The bank’s revenue rose 8 percent to €6.36 billion in the period.
Crédit Agricole, meanwhile posted a 15 percent increase in Q3 net profit to €930 million. Its revenue fell 2 percent to €3.92 billion.
Despite the news, the latter’s shares fell 8.3 percent, with the bank attributing the drop to “unfounded and false” information circulating among investors. It said on Thursday that it will file a complaint with the French financial regulator, with sources saying the rumours were about capital increases.
The Paris-based lender said that the European Banking Authority (EBA) had mistakenly indicated that Crédit Agricole, the group’s listed entity, would go through the “stress tests”.
“This mistake has been corrected by the EBA,” it added.
Société Générale’s retail bank in France posted a net profit of €410 million, up 29 percent from a year earlier.
The French bank’s global banking and investor solution business posted a 30 percent drop in net profit to €320 million in the third quarter, while Crédit Agricole’s corporate and investment bank reported a 3 percent decline in net profit to €256 million.
The profit gains in the third quarter allowed the French banks to continue to increase their capital buffers to meet stricter regulation.
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