In asset management, life insurance or private banking, the trust that customers place in those who manage their assets entails integrated responsibilities for Group entities. The €735 billion in assets managed by these business lines reflect this.
These business lines evidence their commitment by structuring their organisation internally, developing products that meet SRI criteria and by integrating social and environmental considerations into their management processes.
Asset management, insurance and private banking
Crédit Agricole Asset Management (CAAM), a socially responsible investor
CAAM has made SRI a strategic focus for development. The company has adjusted its organisation by reinforcing and centralising all extra-financial research and analysis within Ideam, its dedicated SRI subsidiary, so as to feed it through to CAAM Group management overall.
To extend the application of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria to an increasing number of investment processes as a function of customer needs, an internal tool makes available the ESG ratings of companies or countries to all CAAM Group managers, giving them the same importance as the recommendations made by financial and credit analysts.
In 2006, CAAM Group became a signatory to the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI), which means that it takes into account ESG issues in analysing investments and in the decision-making process, while gradually integrating ESG considerations in all areas of management.
In keeping with the Group’s restrictive position in all its investments in companies that were found to be involved in the production, storage and marketing of antipersonnel mines and cluster bombs, CAAM Group then decided to cease investing in those companies as part of its SRI asset management programme. It has now extended this policy to all of its active investment mutual funds.
Crédit Agricole named Bank of the Year for its sustainable development policy
All Crédit Agricole Group insurance businesses have been combined into Crédit Agricole Assurances: property/casualty insurance (Predica), non-life insurance (Pacifica), creditor insurance (CACI) and international insurance operations in over twenty countries. This business line is developing SRI actions within its various activities.
Crédit Agricole Assurances' senior management appointed an officer dedicated to sustainable development in 2008, thereby structuring and reinforcing the process initiated by the Group's insurance business line. The goal of this organisation is to develop an ESG policy that is consistent with Group principles and applied by each company, as part of the insurance industry's sustainable development charter, which was officially adopted at the beginning of 2009.
Meeting "private bank" compliance standards for customers
For many years, the Private Banking line has applied a far-reaching compliance system. The approach is based primarily on FIDES, the Group's compliance enhancement system, and the associated procedures. Training programmes and anti-money laundering systems have been instituted to identify suspect transactions.
Furthermore, as part of their efforts to ensure that products are consistent with customer needs, the Private Banking entities in France and other countries systematically offer their customers funds with underlying assets that meet SRI criteria and environmental theme funds.
Focus
Pacifica mobilises following winter storm Klaus
Given the extent of damages caused by winter storm Klaus hit, Pacifica, the Crédit Agricole Group's non-life insurance company, reinforced its claims handling and payment systems to help its customers.
Under the general claims payment policy, Pacifica's personal customers were eligible for a waiver of the deductible after three years without filing a claim. Some 50% of customers insured through Crédit Agricole are eligible for this waiver. Given the scale of this storm, Pacifica decided to extend the waiver system to all personal customers who incurred damages because of Klaus insured via Crédit Agricole and who did not have access to that system.
