Cré dit Agricole Lifted by Loan Demand

PARIS—Cré dit Agricole SA posted Thursday a 15% increase in third-quarter net profit, boosted by its retail bank and its asset management and insurance business.

The Paris-based lender, France's second-largest listed bank by assets, said net profit rose to €930 million ($1.01 billion) in the three months to the end of September. Revenue was down 2% at €3.92 billion.

Cré dit Agricole's earnings this quarter highlight a pickup in loan demand in France, as the country's economy gradually recovers.

At Cré dit Agricole's domestic retail bank, net profit rose 2% to €250 million in the third-quarter, while its insurance and banking business posted a 9% increase to €438 million.

Its international retail banking business, which includes Italy, Poland and Egypt, posted a 39% jump in net profit to €69 million.

However, Cré dit Agricole's corporate and investment bank posted a 3% drop in net profit to €256 million, hurt by lower client demand and market volatility.

Last month, Cré dit Agricole agreed to pay $787 million to settle U.S. allegations that it handled illegal transactions involving Sudan, Iran and Cuba.

The bank, however, said that the fine had no impact on its earnings or its capital buffers this quarter.

Cré dit Agricole's core tier-one ratio, which compares top-quality capital such as equity and retained earnings with risk-weighted assets, stood at 10.3%, up from 10.2% in June.

The bank's leverage ratio, which measures capital held by the bank against its total assets, stood at 4.4% compared with 4.3% at the end of June.

Write to Noemie Bisserbe at noemie.bisserbe@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 05, 2015 01:45 ET (06:45 GMT)

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