France’s Crédit Agricole started in the late 19th century as an association of local and regional banks providing finance for agriculture, and even today around 80% of French farmers are customers. Just over half of the modern group’s revenues come from retail banking, predominantly in its home market but also in Italy, Ukraine and Egypt. As a diversified financial services company, Crédit Agricole offers insurance, asset management (through its subsidiary Amundi), corporate and investment banking, and specialist finance like car leasing. Headquartered in Paris, the group is still controlled by 39 regional cooperative banks, meaning that even though a substantial portion of Crédit Agricole’s shares are in free float, it can legitimately claim to be the world’s largest mutual financial institution, with 11.8 million members.
