Agricole profit down
CREDIT Agricole, France’s biggest retail bank, yesterday plucked a new chief executive from its influential regional divisions as it posted a widely-expected fall in third quarter profit.
The group said yesterday that Jean-Paul Chifflet would replace Georges Pauget as chief executive in March next year.
Chifflet’s current position is corporate secretary of the Federation Nationale du Credit Agricole, the central body of regional banks on which the group is founded.
The appointment of Chifflet highlights the renewed power of the company’s regional retail banks over the group, which has cut back on ambitious plans for its Calyon investment banking unit after Calyon posted a string of losses in 2008.
“The company’s regional banks are tightening their grip on power,” said Reyl France fund manager Dorothee Marty, who holds Agricole shares in her portfolio.
Third-quarter net profit fell 21 percent from a year earlier to €289m (£258m), above the average net profit of €238m forecast by analysts.
The company’s earnings were hit by writedowns at its Greek Emporiki division and by a rise in bad debts.
Agricole’s third quarter profit was less than that reported by its main domestic rivals earlier this month.
Societe Generale made a net profit of €426m, while BNP Paribas, France’s biggest bank by market capitalisation, posted a profit of €1.18bn.