Social strategy

Ensure access for all to offers and services

For individual customers

• EKO had attracted more than 179,000 customers at the end of 2023: this entry-level banking service launched by the Regional Banks in late 2017 includes a basic banking service for €2/month (consisting of an account, a card, branch facilities and an app).
• 48,000 EKO auto insurance policies were taken out during the year, bringing the number of policies covered by this inclusive package, which offers basic cover at an affordable price, to 97,790.
• The launch of BforBasic by BforBank: a free, non-means tested service, after the entire offering of the 100% digital bank, open to all customers, was repositioned in September 2023.

For SMEs, sole traders and micro-entrepreneurs

• Launch of EKO PRO: this offering gives access to an account, a card and most branch services at an affordable rate and had attracted 15,000 customers at the end of November 2023.
• The two 100% digital offers, Propulse for Regional Banks and LCL Essential Pro for LCL, offer “all-in-one” solutions (an account, a card, management services) on subscription.

Commitment to young people

• For everyday needs: since its launch, 118,700 subscriptions to LCL Essentiel, a banking service aimed at young people in urban areas for €2/month; nearly 290,000 LCL Flex instant mini-loans taken out via the mobile app at the end of 2023; more than 610,000 subscriptions to the Globe-Trotter service at the end of 2023, offering an international payment card and associated services for €2/month.
• For housing: consumer loans and mortgage loans at preferential rates to help young professionals and first-time buyers; home insurance offered to students whose parents are LCL customers and to young people in rented accommodation, in partnership with Action Logement, entitling them to free cover with a Visale guarantee, for an all-inclusive price of €6/month.
• For studying: affiliation with the State-guaranteed student loan scheme run by Bpifrance, allowing students under the age of 28 to cover the costs of student life (tuition fees, accommodation, study trips etc.)

Supporting vulnerable people and combating overindebtedness

• In the area of consumer finance, CA Consumer Finance supports vulnerable people in the countries in which it operates:
  • 3,589 Sofinco customers supported in France by the Customer Support Agency;
  • 13,523 customers supported in Italy at Agos (total in 2023).
• In retail banking, LCL and the Regional Banks:
  • have introduced the automatic detection of actual or potential financial difficulties;
  • support customers who are struggling financially (including LCL Initial and Compound Account Protected Budget Module (Compte à Composer Module Budget Protégé), with a limit on unarranged fees and bank charges etc.).

Improving access to care and ageing well

• Launch of the new Crédit Agricole Santé & Territoires (Healthcare and Regions) business line
  The decrease in the number of doctors over the next decade will coincide with an ageing population, resulting in a sharp increase in the demand for healthcare. In response to these challenges, Crédit Agricole Santé & Territoires draws on the various initiatives carried out within the Group, as well as on partnerships and strong growth in the number of health insurance policyholders, with a twofold objective:
  • • Expanding access to care in the regions: development of telemedicine, support for healthcare professionals and new forms of medical practice, development of healthcare structures in medical deserts etc.
      In late 2023, CA Santé & Territoires acquired a 90% stake in Omedys, thereby positioning itself to develop regionally operated teleconsultation solutions approved by the French health insurance and doctors’ unions.
      In a rapidly changing healthcare system, it is also investing in medical professionals through a 93% stake in Medicalib, a company specialising in support for paramedical professions (nurses and physiotherapists), whose role is becoming increasingly important. Other solutions currently being studied, such as the installation of health centres in the regions, will contribute to the growth of CA Santé & Territoires in an environment where access to healthcare is a growing challenge.
    • Facilitating ageing well: both at home and in terms of accommodation through a support platform and expansion of housing stock for senior citizens.

  See also CA Santé & Territoires in “Ambitions 2025” in action

• Support and guidance for healthcare professionals
  • At LCL: €6.3 billion in outstanding finance at the end of 2023 for LCL and Interfimo, its subsidiary catering for freelance professionals, to facilitate public access to quality care; a €200 million partnership between LCL and the European Investment Bank to help healthcare professionals develop their business and assist new practitioners in becoming established (€145 million granted at the end of 2023, of which €55 million was for projects in areas under pressure).
  • In the Regional Banks: outreach workers in the healthcare sector and specialist advisors and business managers; a housing loan offer for interns and heads of health clinics; refinancing packages with the European Investment Bank for €650 million to encourage more women into the sector, facilitate the establishment of new practices and prevent medical deserts; acculturation initiatives for the care sector (IFCAM training, events and webinars with Le Quotidien du Médecin, a guide published by Uni-Médias etc.).

Supporting high-impact players and investment solutions promoting social cohesion

• Passing the €500-million mark at the end of 2023, the Amundi Finance et Solidarité fund has confirmed its position as a leader in social economy investment in France, with continued growth in assets under management.
• Crédit Agricole Assurances periodically supplements its life insurance policies with SRI-, Greenfin- and Finansol- certified products to offer investors social impact investments. It had €23.4 billion of certified unit-linked assets in 2023, compared with its target of €28 billion by 2025.
• LCL has strengthened its “LCL Impact Sociétal et Solidaire” responsible investment ranges, notably with LCL Better World, the market’s first exclusive allocation of funds contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals within life insurance policies.

Developing social housing

• Crédit Agricole has confirmed its position as one of the leading residential mortgage providers in France. It has made a significant contribution to boosting home ownership across the board, notably by financing several Organismes Fonciers Solidaires (OFS – community land trusts) set up under the Loi pour l’Accès au Logement et un Urbanisme Rénové (ALUR – French law on access to housing and town planning reform). In addition, the partnership between Crédit Agricole S.A., the Fédération Nationale du Crédit Agricole and Action Logement was extended in late 2022 to facilitate housing rental, especially for people (particularly younger generations) who cannot afford a deposit.
• With nearly a thousand homes sold in 2023 to social landlords by Crédit Agricole Immobilier, more than 5,000 social housing units have been developed by the Group’s developer over the last 10 years.
• In 2023, customer assets in regulated savings accounts represented €70 billion for the Regional Banks. The sums deposited by investors and remitted to the savings fund managed on behalf of the State by the Caisse des dépôts et consignations are allocated, as a priority, to the financing of social housing by public authorities.

Promoting entrepreneurship

• The continued involvement of LCL and the Regional Banks alongside the major networks that support business creation in France: Initiative France, Réseau Entreprendre and France Active.
• 126 projects of entrepreneurs – most of them looking for work – were financed by LCL and France Active Garantie (in which LCL holds a 5% stake) for more than €6 million.

Issuing social bonds

• Crédit Agricole CIB was bookrunner for more than €2.6 billion in social bonds (source: Bloomberg).
• The social bonds issued by Crédit Agricole S.A. were a resounding success, with €3,526 million outstanding bonds and 11 issues in 2023.
• LCL supported ANRH, a major French social and solidarity economy group active in the areas of disability and employment, in setting up two social loans totalling €4.1 million.

Crédit Agricole S.A. aims to be a responsible employer over the long term and wishes to promote its employer brand through seven themes.

Crédit Agricole S.A. is a responsible employer that…

¹ Scope: Crédit Agricole S.A.
² Indicator coverage ratio: 100% of workforce
³ France scope: 96% of workforce
⁴ Source: Financial Times/Statista 2024 fifth annual ranking, with a sample of 13,000 eligible corporates in Europe
⁵ Entities with a score below 84/100 represent less than 2% of the workforce
⁶ Scope: Crédit Agricole S.A. France
⁷ Indice de Mise en Responsabilité (Empowerment Index)

Impact on 6 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals

Highlight of 2023

Crédit Agricole S.A. and UNI Global Union, the international trade union federation representing the private services sector, signed a new global agreement on 9 October 2023. It proposes a baseline social foundation common to all 79,000 employees of Crédit Agricole S.A. in the 46 countries in which it operates.

The four-year agreement reaffirms Crédit Agricole S.A.’s commitment to respecting human rights and fundamental social rights, and promotes social dialogue. In addition, it includes commitments to:

• parenthood, with the introduction of 28 calendar days of paid paternity leave for all employees;
• quality of life in the workplace;
• equal opportunities and non-discrimination;
• inclusion of workers with disabilities.