(AOF) – Crédit Agricole Assurances and F2i, the main Italian infrastructure fund, have signed an agreement to acquire from the Villar Mir group operating wind farms (53 megawatts of capacity) and wind projects at an advanced stage of development (430 megawatts of capacity), located in northern Spain.
F2i, through the Fonds V – Fondo per le Infrastrutture Sostenibili, will acquire 60% of the wind energy portfolio and the remaining 40% will be held by Crédit Agricole Assurances, F2i’s current partner in the EF Solare Italia group.
The seller Villar Mir is a historic Spanish conglomerate operating in 31 countries in the real estate, metallurgy, power generation and construction sectors.
Philippe Dumont, Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Agricole Assurances, said: “We are delighted at the idea of developing a new partnership with F2i following our joint investments in Italy. This new acquisition in the field of renewable energies will benefit from the know-how of Renovalia as a developer of greenfield projects. This investment is part of the Crédit Agricole Group’s commitments in favor of the climate and will contribute to achieving our objective of 14 GW of installed capacity by 2025”.
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Key points
– Listed vehicle of the mutualist group of the same name, 1st French bank and 8th worldwide;
– Net banking income of €22.7 billion, generated by retail banking at 65%, by specialized financial services at 12%, by wholesale banking at 14% and by savings management and insurance ;
– Business model in 3 points – relational excellence by becoming the preferred bank for individuals, entrepreneurs and institutions, local responsibility to support digitalisation and societal commitment by amplifying mutualist commitment;
– Capital held at 55.3% by the regional mutuals, hence the strong presence of their representatives on the Board of Directors (10 out of 21 members) chaired by Dominique Lefebvre, Philippe Brassac being Chief Executive Officer;
– Solid financial position – CET 1 ratio of 17%, return on equity of 11.6% and cash reserves of €472 billion.
Challenges
– Investor response to the new 2025 plan, the objectives of the 2019-2022 plan having been achieved a year ahead of schedule;
– Innovation strategy, one of the 3 levers of the business model: internally: 90% of Group entities having a “data-centric” architecture in 2022, and €300 million in IT efficiency gains , 100% of IT employees trained in new technologies in the University of Information Systems and 100% of emerging technologies tested on new business services / towards customers: expansion of the range of leading applications (Ma banque Pro, Pro&Entreprises LCL , etc…), offer of digital and mobile checkout solutions for small/medium merchants, European electronic banking offer for major retailers and complete e-commerce range;
– Reinforced environmental strategy: carbon neutrality by 2050 for the own footprint and on investment and financing portfolios / in 2022: total cessation of financing for unconventional hydrocarbon extraction projects, no extraction financing or gas in the Arctic region / in 2025: reduction to 20% in oil extraction, for all open funds under active management by Amundi, an energy rating higher than that of the competition and €20 billion committed in funds at impact, renewable energies: doubling of the production capacity of renewable energy installations financed by Crédit Agricole Assurances to 10.5 GW
– 60% growth in investment banking exposure to non-carbon energies and development of the platform dedicated to hydrogen projects / 50% increase in financing of renewable energies in France by Unifergie;
– Benefits from penetrating the Chinese (first foreign asset management company) and Indian (cash management offer) markets;
– Reinforcement in the financing of mobility via the partnership with Stellantis, operational in 2023 and the launch of an internal entity specializing in car financing, rental and mobility.
Challenges
– Net assets of €13.2 per share, compared to the stock market price;
– Russia-Ukraine war: strong impact on earnings in the 1st quarter due to provisions made on the risks of the 2 countries and stoppage of financing for Russian companies;
– Integration of Italian CreVal and Lyxor;
– 2021 dividend of €1.05 (including €0.2 for the 2019 catch-up).
The negative effects of rising interest rates
The rise in interest rates normally causes an increase in bank income through the loans granted. In Europe, according to a survey conducted by S&P among 85 banking establishments, the sector expects on average an 18% increase in its net interest income. However, this new inflationary context also has undesirable effects, in particular an increase in refinancing costs. It is also accompanied by the fear of a new recession, which would then affect all the bank’s businesses, ranging from loans to asset management, whose income is correlated to market valuations. Reassuring element: the banks of the euro zone are sufficiently solid to face a deterioration of their environment.