Crédit Agricole S.A.

Credit Agricole S.A. reported Q1 2026 net income of EUR 1,676 million, up 1.8% year over year pro forma. Group net income rose 5.5%, driven by 2.8% revenue growth to a record EUR 10 billion; CASA revenues were EUR 7 billion. Gross operating income increased 5.5% on a like-for-like basis, and CASA’s ROTE reached 13.7%. CASA CET1 was 11.4%, down from 11.8% mainly due to organic growth, M&A, and market/methodology effects, including 14 bps from the higher Banco BPM stake; the group CET1 remained 670 bps above its SREP requirement. Net risk cost increased 32% versus Q1 2025, mainly from Stage 1/2 provisioning, including about EUR 60 million linked to the Middle East conflict. Forward guidance: LCL NII guidance for 2026 remains high single digit; Credit Agricole Italia NII is still expected to be around flat to slightly negative this year before improving later; the interim dividend is planned as a 50% payout of first-half net profit on October 15.

Clotilde L'Angevin said the quarter reflected strong activity across the group, with customer capture, digitalization, and product rollout helping support revenues even in a turbulent environment. She emphasized that the group is executing its ACT 2028 strategy through digital platforms, new client acquisition, and selective expansion, including the small Ukrainian bank acquisition and the launch of the German savings platform. Her tone was confident and constructive, but repeatedly cautious on risk, geopolitics, and the automotive market.

She highlighted a strong income statement, including group revenues of EUR 10 billion, CASA revenues of EUR 7 billion, and gross operating income up 5.5% like-for-like. On costs, she cited positive jaws of 1.7 percentage points and said full synergies from the CACEIS/RBC deal are now in the numbers, while additional cost savings are expected from Amundi and Credit Agricole Italia. On capital, she explained the CASA CET1 move to 11.4% with 23 bps of organic growth consumption, 17 bps from M&A, and 4 bps from insurance OCI/market effects; she also said liquidity remains very strong with EUR 475 billion of reserves and that almost two-thirds of the funding plan was already completed in Q1.

Analysts focused heavily on Banco BPM, asking whether Credit Agricole would keep adding on dips and whether a merger remained the preferred endgame; management said the stake increase to 22.9% was an opportunistic move after ECB authorization to exceed 20%, and that the long-term strategy in Italy is unchanged, with Credit Agricole intending to be a long-term partner and participate in scenario analysis as a board member. Another major topic was Specialized Financial Services and the lagging auto/leasing business; management said the quarter was affected by depressed used-car markets and residual value adjustments, but noted that the business is near breakeven and reaffirmed a single-digit 2026 contribution for Leasys, while still expecting a double-digit yearly contribution overall from Leasys in 2026. Questions on capital and RWAs drew the response that some CACIB market-related RWA effects are potentially reversible, while the front-loaded organic growth is not reversible but should translate into future revenue.