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.
In 1966, as part of efforts to boost savings and remove Crédit Agricole from its budget, the government gave CNCA financial autonomy. Savings inflows no longer passed through the Treasury, and CNCA was now responsible for balancing the surpluses and deficits of the Regional Banks. The 1971 "Rurality Act" extended Crédit Agricole’s potential financing sources to rural zones and to new types of customers, such as craftsmen and food producers. Lending to SMEs and mid-tier firms followed after.
The Banking Reform of 1966 allowed the organisation to offer households the same products as those provided by competitors, including passbook accounts and home savings plans.
The first subsidiaries were set up at the end created in 19t and crédit to grant loans to food producers in 1971.Crédit Agricole began distributing home purchase savings products from 1967, government-regulated mortgages from 1972 and first-time-buyer loans in 1977.
In 1976, the Group adopted the slogan "le bon sens près de chez vous" ("common sense close to home").
The group’s acquisitions enabled it to strengthen its leadership in French retail banking, expand its position in corporate and investment banking and build up its international network of branches and subsidiaries. By now, the group was the number-one bank in France with 28% of the domestic market, the global number-two by revenues and number-ten by profits, according to Fortune magazine, and number-15 worldwide according to Forbes rankings.
EmoticonEmoticon