Crédit Lyonnais
The Crédit Lyonnais , once the most important bank in France, is closely linked to the economic history of the country. In 1993 the bank was at the center of one of the biggest banking scandals in the world and lost its independence in 2003 after being bought by Crédit Agricole . Today the name lives on as Le Crédit Lyonnais (LCL for short), a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole , which comprises the private customer business and the branch network of the former Crédit Lyonnais; the key account business was transferred to Crédit Agricole CIB , also a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole.
history
Foundation and advancement
The bank was founded by Henri Germain on July 6, 1863. Together with BNP Paribas and Société Générale , Crédit Lyonnais is one of the three oldest French commercial banks ( les trois vieilles ).
In 1870 the bank opened its first branch outside the country in London. In 1876 the first branch was opened in Paris, which became the headquarters of the bank until 1913. In 1880, Crédit Lyonnais was ranked number one among French banks with 23 branches in Paris and branches in London, Geneva, Constantinople and Alexandria. In 1900, Crédit Lyonnais was ranked first among commercial banks in terms of balance sheet volume.
nationalization
After the Second World War, the four largest banks in France were nationalized, including Crédit Lyonnais (1946).
At the beginning of the 1970s u. a. founded the Europartner group with Commerzbank ; The Quatre Vents logo, which Crédit Lyonnais ran with Commerzbank until 2003 , also comes from this connection .
From 1973 it was made possible for the employees of the bank to purchase shares; this partial privatization was reversed in 1982 with the nationalization of the banking system under the first Mitterrand government . In the first cohabitation under the then Prime Minister Jacques Chirac (1986–1989), Crédit Lyonnais was to be privatized, but this had to be postponed.
Expansion and collapse
Under the management board of Jean-Yves Haberer (1988–1993), international growth and expansion of all business areas was accelerated; so was u. a. acquired Chase Banque de Commerce in Belgium, Credito Bergamasco and Banco San Marco in Italy, Banca Jover and Banco Comercial Espanol in Spain and, above all, BfG Bank in Germany. The bank also pursued an aggressive investment policy through its subsidiaries Clinvest, Clindus and SDBO and acquired a number of risky industrial holdings. The bank's motto at the time was " Le pouvoir de dire oui " (the ability to say yes). The collapse of the economy and a deep real estate crisis in France led to heavy losses in 1992, with a deficit of around FF 150 billion (almost € 23 billion), which required the intervention of the state to avoid the collapse of the bank.
Redevelopment
Bank finances were saved from the disaster by relocating their loans and liabilities to a new state-owned company ( bad bank ), the Consortium de Réalization (CDR). The CDR later agreed to pay $ 525 million to the California Department of Insurance to prevent litigation over the Executive Life insurance scandal. The CDR is a controversial formation because many believe the French government shouldn't have bailed the bank out of a tight spot.
privatization
The shares have been freely traded on the stock exchange since 1999. 50% were in free float , 33% belonged to a group of large investors, 10% to the French state and the rest to the employees and Crédit Lyonnais.
Takeover by Crédit Agricole
In 2003, Crédit Lyonnais was taken over by Crédit Agricole . Its investment banking and wholesale business was transferred to an existing subsidiary of Crédit Agricole, Crédit Agricole Indosuez , which was subsequently renamed Calyon (since 2010 under the name Crédit Agricole CIB ).
In 2005, the remaining business of Crédit Lyonnais, consisting of the branch business, was renamed Le Crédit Lyonnais (LCL).
criticism
In September 2010, Crédit Lyonnais, along with ten other banks, was fined 381.1 million euros by the Conseil de la Concurrence . The banks had made an agreement according to which they would charge their customers 4.3 cents check fees per check from January 2002 to July 2007 in order to generate extra profits. This affected 80% of the checks used in France. Check transactions in France were free until 2002. After the intervention of the banking regulator, which called the profits "illegal", this practice was stopped. The banks in this cartel were also fined for excessive fees totaling 3.8 million euros. Since Crédit Lyonnais had already been sentenced to a penalty in 2000 for obstructing competition, the penalty was increased by a further 20%.
Holdings
- From 1993 to 2000 the bank was the majority shareholder of the BfG-Bank ; this stake had to be sold to the Swedish SEB as part of the restructuring .
- The Belgian Crédit Lyonnais was sold to Deutsche Bank in 1999 .
- The Crédit Lyonnais owned the American MGM film studios for a few years, during which Giancarlo Parretti was studio boss .
various
- Crédit Lyonnais is best known around the world for its work as the main sponsor of the yellow jersey in the Tour de France . Legendary racing cyclists such as Lance Armstrong , Jan Ullrich , Joop Zoetemelk , Eddy Merckx , Fausto Coppi , Bernard Hinault , Luis Ocaña Pernía , Miguel Indurain and Raymond Poulidor wore the famous jersey. During the tour, Crédit Lyonnais makes it easier for those taking part in the tour to do business with banking services in flying bank counters.
- During a major fire on May 5, 1996, a large part of the historic Paris company headquarters was destroyed. The fire started in the bank's main banking hall and was one of the most devastating fires to destroy a building in Paris in the past 25 years. It burned for over 12 hours and two thirds of the building were destroyed, including the sensitive bank archive and computer data.
- The very distinctive company headquarters in the east of the city of Lyon is called crayon ( French for pencil ) because of its shape .
Web links
- LCL website (French)
- Early documents and newspaper articles on Crédit Lyonnais in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
Individual evidence
- ↑ "History of Commerzbank 1970 to 1989"
- ^ Collusion in the banking sector . Press release of the Autorité de la concurrence of September 20, 2010, accessed on February 9, 2011
- ↑ French banks are supposed to pay millions in: Handelsblatt of September 21, 2010, accessed on February 9, 2011