Credit Agricole, France's second-biggest listed bank, has today posted better-than-expected earnings, as market volatility boosted trading revenue.
Sales derived from trade in fixed income, currency and commodities (FICC) jumped 42%, Credit Agricole Group's listed entity said.
The bank outperformed peers such as bigger French rival BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs.
Credit Agricole said its quarterly sales rose to €6.12 billion, up 9.6% from a year earlier, while net income more than doubled to about €1.23 billion.
Both figures beat market expectations of €5.9 billion and €816m, respectively, according to an analyst consensus compiled by the company.
Robust demand for hedging services due to high volatility in the markets and strong levels of bond issuance laid the ground for the performance, Credit Agricole's investment bank chief Xavier Musca said in a call, though he cautioned some momentum would likely be lost in the second quarter.
"There will obviously be a form of slowdown," Musca said.
"The volatility of the markets is decreasing, the hedging needs of our clients are also decreasing - it is likely that we will not repeat the performance we had in the first quarter," he added.
Market volatility was fuelled by turmoil in the global banking sector, marked by the fall of several US regional banks and Credit Suisse.
Those raised concerns about confidence in the financial sector as some European savers look for better returns from their deposits.
Deposit levels were stable in the quarter from a year earlier for the group, Credit Agricole said. The cost of risk - money set aside for failing loans - fell to €374m, as concerns linked to the war in Ukraine subsided.
Credit Agricole's exposure to Russia fell €500m from the start of the year to €2.4 billion by the end of April, deputy CEO Jerome Grivet said, down from €4.6 billion when Russia first invaded in early 2022.
Credit Agricole also confirmed its 2025 targets.
