Credit Agricole's Q1 profit undershoots as Iran war uncertainty lifts provisions

Banco BPM SpA

30/04/2026 06:00

Provisions rose over 32%; bank cites Middle East risks

Investment banking revenue fell 4%, underperforming peers in trading

Net income and revenue slightly below forecasts

By Mathieu Rosemain

PARIS, April 30 (Reuters) - Credit Agricole SA CAGR.PA missed first‑quarter earnings forecasts on Thursday, as the French bank hiked the money set aside for potential bad loans including to cover the fallout of the Iran war.

 The French lender also reported a dip in revenue at its investment bank.

 Overall, first‑quarter net income rose 1.8% from a year earlier to 1.68 billion euros ($1.96 billion), the bank said, slightly below an analyst consensus of 1.72 billion euros.

Revenues edged up 0.9% to 6.99 billion euros, also missing expectations of 7.06 billion euros.

The cost of risk – provisions for potential bad loans – jumped more than 32% to 547 million euros.

Of that amount, around 100 million euros relate to precautionary provisions, Chief Financial Officer Clotilde L’Angevin told reporters.

The bank is bracing for a possible deterioration in the macroeconomic outlook, particularly due to risks stemming from the Middle East, rather than responding to a material increase in defaults, she told reporters.

“This is prudent provisioning, and the actual risk remains very contained; it is even down compared with the fourth quarter,” L’Angevin added.

“Within the 100 million euros, we have 28 million euros of sectoral and geographic provisions at CACIB,” Credit Agricole’s investment banking arm, “for example on petrochemicals and aviation,” she said.

 Analysts warn that a prolonged conflict and sustained high energy prices could force banks to bolster provisions, although assessing the impact of the war on the global economy and on banks so early on is hard.

Deutsche Bank
 DBKGn.DE and
Lloyds
 LLOY.L are among other lenders to set aside more money this week due to the conflict.

Credit Agricole’s investment banking unit reported a 4% decline in sales, with revenue from fixed income, currencies and commodities down 9%, underperforming Deutsche, French rival BNP Paribas BNPP.PA and several Wall Street peers.

Italy, the bank’s largest market outside France, remains a strategic priority. Credit Agricole recently increased its stake in Banco BPM BAMI.MI to 22.9% and filed a slate of seven board candidates, stopping short of seeking management control.

Separately, SAS Rue La Boetie, the investment vehicle controlled by Credit Agricole’s 39 mutual banks, said it planned to buy up to 800 million euros of Credit Agricole shares by the first quarter of 2027, while keeping its stake below 65%.

($1 = 0.8565 euros)

 (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes)

 ((Mathieu.Rosemain@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 8098 1239; Reuters Messaging: mathieu.rosemain.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter: https://twitter.com/MathieuRosemain))