Consumer Credit: Crédit Agricole Chooses Bankia

The banking group’s subsidiary Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance entered an exclusive negotiation process with the Spanish bank Bankia. The terms of their alliance haven’t yet been disclosed, but this strategic partnership could lead them to build a Joint-Venture in the consumer credit market.

Crédit Agricole’s consumer credit subsidiary chooses Bankia’s network and their multi-channel model to land in Spain, fourth-largest consumer credit market in the Eurozone.

Bankia, for their part, would rely on Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance’s expertise in managing partnerships. The Spanish bank should then be able to hold a consumer credit subsidiary, as they haven’t yet got a dedicated entity.

Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance is already established in roughly twenty EU markets, as well as in Morocco and in China. This partnership should help them strengthen their European presence. This group reported over 77 billion euros in outstanding credit in the end of 2016, and 82.6 billion euros in the end of 2017, a stronger growth than expected.

Comments – Good international dynamics for CACF

Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance reported that more than 62% of the outstanding loans are managed outside of France, and mostly in Europe. This accounts for the group’s promising dynamics and increasing number of partnerships in this region. By way of staying competitive, they now bet on a strongly growing market, where outstanding credit volumes increased by more than 12% last year.

In the other EU markets, Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance wants to stand out through introducing innovative offers. For instance, they launched a mobile subscription service in Italy, Germany and in the Netherlands. They intend to manage more than 40% online and mobile subscriptions for new credit lines; and, to achieve this goal, they rely on full-digital mechanisms including the implementation of digital signature processes. These initiatives are consistent with the group’s overall focus on innovation, also highlighted by their “Ambition stratégique 2020” program.

In China, this group relies on car financing services, which account for more than 40% of their outstanding loan volumes. But they are also betting on partnerships: with Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge and with Alibaba’s automotive business, for instance.