Despite an unfavorable environment and low interest rates, Crédit Mutuel posted net income of €3.86 billion in 2019, a historically high figure, up almost 8% year-on-year. Another sign of good health: the group is hiring, at a time when many banking groups are laying off staff.
An excellent balance sheet for 2019
Crédit Mutuel announced in a press release that it had posted a net profit of 3.86 billion euros in 2019, compared with 3.58 billion in 2018. An all-time high, up nearly 8% year-on-year.
Net banking income rose by 3% year-on-year to over 18 billion euros. The Group recorded an improved interest margin thanks to an increase in the volume of loans granted. As for the measures taken in favor of customers in fragile situations, decided during the Gilets jaunes crisis, they had the effect of reducing commissions.
Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, which brings together the Bretagne and Sud-Ouest federations, recorded a capital gain of 200 million euros. This capital gain boosted net income. Operating profit rose by 1.1%. It does not include this capital gain, and therefore gives a more representative picture of the business itself.
Finally, the Group's customer portfolio stands at 34.2 million, up 1.6 million in one year.
A group that hires and continues to diversify
While other banking groups are laying off staff, and despite the unfavorable low interest rate environment, Crédit Mutuel continues to hire.
The group is also continuing to diversify its activities. In the real estate sector, it is no. 1 in new housing agencies, no. 1 in home protection and the leading mobile virtual operator, with two million customers.
The only fly in the ointment is a tense climate between the Confédération Nationale du Crédit Mutuel and the Arkéa group, which includes Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne and Crédit Mutuel du Sud-Ouest.
The group claims the strength of a model based on a high degree of autonomy between the various federations, and Arkea would like to push this autonomy to the point of independence, more precisely by adopting a management board system with a supervisory board. A request to which the Confédération Nationale du Crédit Mutuel refuses to accede.
In April 2018, no fewer than 300 Crédit Mutuel Arkéa local mutuals had voted 94% in favor of independence. Today, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa certifies that there are no longer any legal disputes and that it is working to normalize relations with the national Confederation, but its request still stands.