Four years after becoming chief executive of Crédit Agricole’s corporate and investment bank, Jean-Yves Hocher could be forgiven for expressing a quiet satisfaction at the division’s latest set of results.
On February 19, the corporate and investment bank reported a 32% rise in annual profits to €1.03 billion for 2014 – the division’s second consecutive year of good and solid profitability and the first time it has breached the €1 billion income threshold under Hocher.
Boosting annual revenues by 6.6% to €3.82 billion certainly helped, and that was almost entirely thanks to the performance from its financing, and capital markets and investment banking activities, which delivered revenues of €2.3 billion and €1.54 billion – up an impressive 12.5% and 9.5% respectively versus the year before.
At the same time, CA CIB kept market risk and costs down, with value-at-risk of a low €8.9 million at the end of last year, and a cost-income ratio of 56.9%, down from 59.7% in 2013. Its return on equity, while not eye-catching, was 11% and in-line with its peers.
All in all, the numbers are encouraging, and particularly in terms of growth from financing, capital markets and investment banking.