Crédit Agricole makes first loss
Third-largest French bank lost €3.07 billion in the last quarter of 2011 after being €1.26bn in profit for 2010
FRANCE'S third-largest bank, the semi-cooperative Crédit Agricole, ended 2011 in the red for the first time in its history - losing €1.47 billion over the year and posting a fourth-quarter loss of €3.07bn.
Although traditionally rooted in low-risk domestic lending directly to consumers, it was burned spectacularly by a risky venture into investment banking in buying control of Greek bank Emporiki in 2006; a move which alone cost it €2.4bn in 2011, after losing €2bn in the previous two years.
The bank had been €1.26bn in profit in 2010 but said the "situation in Greece continued to get worse all through the year" in 2011. It added that it had managed to halve its level of refinancing of its subsidiary.
In France, the bank has set aside €2.5bn provision for future losses and adopted strict financial controls. Its investment banking arm, which lost €150 million in 2011, will see 1,750 jobs cut and offices shut in 26 countries. In total, it will have cut 2,350 jobs across the group by the end of 2012.
It has said that "lack of visibility in the economic and financial climate" means it is not able to firm up 2014 prospects. It is not paying a dividend for 2011.
