Credit Agricole, France's biggest retail bank, said today that its net income for 2007 fell 16.8% to €4.044 billion amid the lending crisis in the US.
In a statement, it said 2007 had been a 'mixed year' for the group, despite the earmarking of €3.22 billion in 'impairment charges for capital market activities in the wake of the US residential mortgage crisis'.
'The negative impact of the crisis on revenues in capital market activities was offset by solid growth across all other business lines,' it said, noting that overall net banking income rose by 3.6% to €16.768 billion.
It added that it was proposing a dividend of €1.20 a share, up 4.3% from the previous year.
