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Crédit Mutuel () is a French
cooperative banking Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world. Cooperative banking, as discussed here, includes retail banking carr ...
group, one of the country's top five banks with over 30 million customers. It traces its origins back to the German cooperative movement inspired by Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen in
Alsace–Lorraine Alsace–Lorraine (German language, German: ''Elsaß–Lothringen''), officially the Imperial Territory of Alsace–Lorraine (), was a territory of the German Empire, located in modern-day France. It was established in 1871 by the German Empire ...
under German rule, in the 1880s. Crédit Mutuel was a member of the International Raiffeisen Union (IRU). Crédit Mutuel has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of
European Banking Supervision European Banking Supervision, also known as the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), is the policy framework for the prudential supervision of banks in the euro area. It is centered on the European Central Bank (ECB), whose supervisory arm is re ...
in late 2014, and as a consequence is directly supervised by the
European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central component of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#International ...
.


History


Origins

The first local cooperative bank inspired by the Raiffeisen system on what is now French territory was created in February 1882 in La Wantzenau, a village near
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
. The network in German-ruled
Alsace–Lorraine Alsace–Lorraine (German language, German: ''Elsaß–Lothringen''), officially the Imperial Territory of Alsace–Lorraine (), was a territory of the German Empire, located in modern-day France. It was established in 1871 by the German Empire ...
grew quickly to 127 local banks in 1892, and 471 in 1914. Louis Durand (1859-1916), a lawyer in
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, was inspired by the Raiffeisen model and started a similar network from 1893, grouped under the (UCROF). Following France's recovery of Alsace-Lorraine after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, some of the local banks joined the
Crédit Agricole Crédit Agricole Group (), sometimes called La banque verte (, , due to its historical ties to farming), is a French international banking group and the world's largest cooperative financial institution. It is the second largest bank in France, ...
network, while others preferred to maintain their Raiffeisen identity and adopted the Crédit Mutuel name. The (BFCM) in Strasbourg was established in 1919 as a financial entity for the reorganized network. Prior to the law of September 10, 1947, local banks were recognized as non-profit entities. Following the enactment of this legislation, they were reclassified as cooperatives. In 1958, new legislation remodeled the group's governance and established the as its central organization in Paris.


After the 2008 financial crisis: expansion with acquisitions

In 2008, during the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
, Crédit Mutuel bought
Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...
's retail bank activities in Germany for 5.2 billion euros. Citibank Germany had over 3 million clients and 7% of the market share in Germany. Citibank sold multiple retail units across Europe and the world to reduce risk and focus on core activities like corporate and investment banking. The German network was subsequently rebranded Targobank. In 2011, Crédit Mutuel bought
Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...
's Belgian branch (Citibank Belgium) and renamed it as Beobank in 2013. In March 2025, Crédit Mutuel acquired the German bank Oldenburgische Landesbank through its German subsidiary Targobank.


Organization

The Crédit Mutuel group has a decentralized structure, despite being designated as a single significant institution under
European Banking Supervision European Banking Supervision, also known as the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), is the policy framework for the prudential supervision of banks in the euro area. It is centered on the European Central Bank (ECB), whose supervisory arm is re ...
. Its central entity is the (CNCM) in Paris. The CNCM was headquartered from 1981 to 2020 at 88–90, rue Cardinet in Paris, and in 2020 moved to a newly erected building at 46, Rue du Bastion near the high-rise Tribunal judiciaire de Paris. In France, the group's main retail network is formed of around 2,000 individual local Crédit Mutuel banks (), which are owned by their customers in line with the Raiffeisen system. These local cooperative banks are grouped into 18 regional federations and one nationwide agricultural federation.


Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale

In 1992, the (CMCEE) was formed in Strasbourg, where the Crédit Mutuel was born in German-ruled
Alsace–Lorraine Alsace–Lorraine (German language, German: ''Elsaß–Lothringen''), officially the Imperial Territory of Alsace–Lorraine (), was a territory of the German Empire, located in modern-day France. It was established in 1871 by the German Empire ...
, through the merger of the regional federations of Alsace, Lorraine, Franche-Comté and Centre-Est, the latter including Bourgogne and Champagne-Ardennes. Since 2011, a number of regional federations have formed a quasi-national grouping led by the CMCEE, initially called the "CM11" and known since 2018 as the Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, which as of early 2022 brings together 14 of the 18 regional federations plus the nationwide agricultural federation. The local banks of the collectively own the in Strasbourg, which in turns owns 91.7% of the (BFCM), with an additional 6.4% of the latter being held by regional federations through their regional . The also owns the , which serves the nationwide agricultural federation except in Brittany. The BFCM in turns owns most of the group's assets beyond the network of local cooperative banks, both in France and abroad. As of early 2022, these included Crédit Industriel et Commercial, a significant banking group which is older than Crédit Mutuel itself, purchased in stages between 1998 and 2017; subsidiaries that host consumer credit ( Cofidis), real estate, asset management, insurance, private equity, factoring and leasing; , a fully-owned media group active in Eastern France; and 96% of the (BECM), a specialized bank that provides property lending in France and Germany. Other affiliates outside of France include: * Banque de Luxembourg in
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
* Targobank in Germany * 51% of Beobank in Belgium, with the remaining 49% held by regional federations of Crédit Mutuel in France * a 35% stake in Banque de Tunisie in
Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
* a 25% stake in Bank of Africa in
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...


Crédit Mutuel Arkéa and other federations

The federations outside of the are those of
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
(headquartered at Le Relecq-Kerhuon near Brest) and Sud-Ouest (in
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
), which together form a grouping called Crédit mutuel Arkéa with its own brand identity; Maine-Anjou-Basse-Normandie (MABN, in Laval); and Océan (in
La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vendée Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is '' ...
). Each of the Arkéa, MABN and Océan groupings have their own serving banking entity, respectively the , , and . Arkéa also has specialized financial services subsidiaries mirroring those of the BFCM, as well as an online bank, , which it acquired in 2006, and the Belgian Keytrade Bank, acquired in 2016.


Caisse Centrale du Crédit Mutuel

The , run by the CNCM in Paris and not to be confused with the in Strasbourg, is a bank that serves financial functions for the entire group, including the and Arkéa. Its capital structure is a reflection of the Crédit Mutuel group's structure. As of end-2021, its shareholders were the (54.07%); Crédit Mutuel Arkéa (20.15%); the (13.11%); the (7.26%); and the (5.41%). the regional federation of Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe, based in
Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
, joined the with effect on , so that its stake may be expected to be consolidated with that of the .


Motto

Crédit Mutuel's corporate motto is "''La banque qui appartient à ses clients, ça change tout!''" ("The bank owned by its customers, that changes everything!")


Controversy


Check processing fees

In 2010 the French government's
Autorité de la concurrence The ; ) is France's national competition regulator. Its predecessor, the Competition Council, was established in the 1950s. The Competition Authority is an , responsible for preventing anti-competitive practices and monitoring the functioning ...
(the department in charge of regulating
competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...
) fined eleven banks, including Crédit Mutuel, the sum of €384,900,000 for colluding to charge unjustified fees on check processing, especially for extra fees charged during the transition from paper check transfer to "Exchanges Check-Image" electronic transfer.


CIC and the National Bank of Haiti

Crédit Mutuel's subsidiary the Crédit Industriel et Commercial (CIC), known for having helped finance the construction of the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...
, played a controversial role in extracting income from Haiti and transferring the wealth into France at around the same time. According to a 2022 ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' investigation into France's colonial legacy in Haiti, the bank benefited loan and concession arrangements with the Haitian Government that required the latter to transfer to CIC and its partners nearly half of all taxes the government collected on exports. By "effectively choking off the nation’s primary source of income," the CIC "left a crippling legacy of financial extraction and dashed hopes — even by the standards of a nation with a long history of both."


See also

*
List of investors in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities Investors in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC lost billions of dollars in the Madoff investment scandal, a Ponzi scheme fraud conducted by Bernie Madoff, Bernard Madoff. The amount missing from client accounts, over two thirds of which ...
Other banking networks derived from the Raiffeisen system: * Raiffeisen Banking Group in Austria *
German Cooperative Financial Group The German Cooperative Financial Group (, sometimes referred to in English as "Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken Cooperative Financial Network") is a major cooperative banking network in Germany that includes local banks named Volksbanken ("people's ...
in Germany * KBC Group in Belgium * Banque Raiffeisen in Luxembourg *
Rabobank Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...
in the Netherlands * Raiffeisen (Switzerland)


References

3rd UPDATE: French Watchdog Fines 11 Banks For Fee Cartel
Elena Bertson, Dow Jones News Wires / Wall Street Journal online, retr 2010 9 20
Collusion in the banking sector
Press Release of Autorité de la concurrence, République Française, 20 September 2010, retrv 2010 9 20


External links


Credit Mutuel bank profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Credit Mutuel Banks established in 1882 French companies established in 1882 Banks under direct supervision of the European Central Bank Crédit Mutuel French brands Banks based in Paris