The results are largely in line with those reported so far by the firm’s compatriots such as Société Générale and BNP Paribas, and speak to a broader global rebound in investment banking so far this year.
“There was maybe a positive surprise on the cost of risk, which was lower than we expected, but on revenues, we saw good growth driven by corporate and investment banking in the case of all four French banks that have reported so far,” said Arnaud Journois, a FIG analyst at DBRS Morningstar.
Underlying revenues from Crédit Agricole’s corporate and investment bank as a whole were €1.37bn in the first three months of the year, up 13.6% on the same period last year.
The bank credited this largely to activity in syndicated loans, project finance and bonds, especially for domestic clients.
The firm recorded quarterly syndicated loan volume of €9bn, up 51% from last year. Of that €9bn, more than half consisted of loans to French borrowers.
Revenues from fixed income, currencies and commodities were meanwhile up 13.5%, giving the bank its best quarter in this area since 2016. This was driven by non-linear derivatives, primary bond market issuance and securitization.
Revenues from structured finance, which includes project finance, were up 8.8% year on year at €312m.
Overall capital markets and investment banking revenues stood at €708m, up 17.4% from last year.
