Paris, 05/07/07
SOFINCO SAUDI FRANSI, the new subsidiary of SOFINCO in Saudi Arabia, has just begun operations. With a 50% holding by SOFINCO and 50% by the SAUDI FRANSI bank, it specializes in the development of funding on the point of sale for the automobile and household goods markets
SOFINCO SAUDI FRANSI distributes a full range of products: Islamic loans, Islamic leaseholds, Islamic multi-plan cards. SOFINCO’s new operation in Saudi Arabia has been set up in a very favourable economic and demographic climate for the development of consumer credit.
SOFINCO is one of the consumer credit subsidiaries of the Crédit Agricole group, included in the Specialized Financial Services Pole. At the end of 2006, almost 60% of outstanding debts handled by SOFINCO came from its international activities. Its development policy is based on three strategic lines :
- organic growth: in 2006, outstanding debts handled by existing subsidiaries increased by almost 25% compared with 2005;
- the strengthening and development of partnerships;
- new installations following the example of the SOFINCO SAUDI FRANSI launching.
Crédit Agricole S.A.’s Specialized Financial Services Pole (Pôle Services Financiers Spécialisés (SFS)) is a leader in consumer credit in Europe. It was handling 55.1 billion euros of outstanding debt on 31 March 2007. The SFS Pole operates in 19 countries: Germany, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Morocco, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland.
Calyon holds 31.1% of the SAUDI FRANSI Bank (BSF) and is responsible for its management. The BSF was created in 1977 by the Indosuez Bank which later became Calyon. This universal bank has 68 subsidiaries in Arabia employing 2,000 members of staff. It controls approximately 10% of the Saudi market (deposits and credits) and ranks 6th out of all banks in that country. The BSF made net earnings of 802 million USD in 2006 and its shareholders’ equity amounted to 2.5 billion USD on 31 December 2006.
