The National Confederation of Crédit Mutuel (CNCM), the central body of the bank, and Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, which brings together the federations of Brittany and the South-West, announced on Wednesday the signing of a memorandum of understanding which puts an end to 15 years of internal conflict.
The memorandum of understanding voted unanimously by the CNCM Board of Directors aims to preserve the cohesion of Crdit Mutuel while guaranteeing the autonomy of its 19 federations, including those of Arka, underline the two parties in a communicated
Internal tensions had turned into a legal conflict in 2014, opposing Crdit Mutuel Arka, whose headquarters are Le Relecq-Kerhuon near Brest, and the CNCM, the central body that oversees all the federations of the group.
Fears about a possible split from the group culminated in 2018 when the Breton branch declared that it wanted to gain independence through its then president, Jean-Pierre Denis. This was followed by a demonstration in front of Bercy of thousands of employees dressed in red and marching to the cries of Vive Arka.
The sometimes latent, sometimes open conflict has resulted in numerous trials and a multitude of acrimonious exchanges between the two entities.
Discussions between the two parties had resumed in the summer of 2022, the CNCM then taking a step towards Arka, instructing its president Nicolas Thry, to put an end to a conflict which is neither in the interests of the members nor up to the current and future economic situation.
In March, the Crdit Mutuel group announced a net profit of 4.1 billion euros in 2022, a slight drop after the record year of 2021, and placing the bank in third position among French banks in terms of profit, behind BNP. Paribas and Credit Agricole.
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