The Crédit Agricole group reported Thursday a net profit down 24.1% in the first quarter. Performance was weighed down by nearly 600 million euros in provisions due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Net profit was 1.33 billion euros, according to a press release. “The group, from a financial point of view, has chosen prudent provisioning even though the proven risk remains very low,” commented Philippe Brassac, CEO of Crédit Agricole SA (Casa) during a press conference. , the listed entity of the mutual bank.
In detail, the bank has set aside 389 million euros for Russia and 195 million for Ukraine, representing the full value of Crédit Agricole Ukraine’s equity, under the ongoing conflict. In total, the cost of risk, that is to say the sums provisioned to deal with any unpaid loans on loans granted, jumped 66% in the first quarter, to 888 million euros.
Crédit Agricole also recalled the “stopping of all new financing for Russian companies since the start of the war and of all commercial activity in the country”. At the end of March, its exposure to Russia represented approximately 4.5 billion euros, or 1.1 billion less compared to the beginning of the hostilities.
Net banking income (NBI), equivalent to turnover for the sector, amounted to 9.68 billion euros in the first quarter, up 7% over one year, ‘thanks to a very sustained level of activity in all businesses, despite the Ukraine/Russia war, the macroeconomic impacts of which are yet to come,” the press release points out.
Regarding CASA, i.e. excluding the regional mutuals, NBI amounted to 5.94 billion euros (+8.1% over one year and higher than analysts’ expectations compiled by Bloomberg and Factset ) and net profit at 552 million (-47.2% and slightly below consensus).
/ATS
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