Crédit Agricole 140 years of history : 1910s - Serving the entire country
At this time, two important measures strengthened Crédit Agricole’s action in its fight against rural depopulation.
First, from 1910, the Crédit Agricole local banks were able to distribute individual long term loans to farmers, which enabled many of them to buy a house and improve their living environment.
The possibility of taking out a medium-term loan to equip and modernise farms, from 1913, supplemented the range of loans offered by Crédit Agricole.
However, the war disrupted this movement. Many farmers were called up, including many mutual shareholders and directors of Crédit Agricole. In a disorganised country, Crédit Agricole took several measures to enable farms to continue to operate. First of all, in the first few months, it facilitated the granting of advances to finance some farming operations, for example the grape harvest in Champagne.
Cover of a brochure presenting employment opportunities in farming for disabled ex-servicemen and the financing solutions available from Crédit Agricole (1918).
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Secondly, since women were considered minors under the supervision of their husbands and had no power to manage bank accounts, some regional banks allowed them to deposit and withdraw money and take out or repay loans. Crédit Agricole also created loans to local authorities for the restoration of derelict land for crop-growing.
But Crédit Agricole was also preparing for the future. In 1918, even before the end of the war, it set up preferential loans for disabled ex-servicemen and civilian casualties to enable them to buy a small family farm. The aim was the same: to combat rural depopulation by facilitating property ownership.
In the same Series
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Crédit Agricole 140 years of history: 2025 until todayCrédit Agricole is now an original model of universal retail banking. -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history: 2010s - The expression of our “Raison d’être”At the beginning of this decade, Crédit Agricole: included 39 regional banks, fully-fledged banks and the majority shareholders of the central institution Crédit Agricole S.A.; was active in all banking businesses; provided services to all types of customers, from individuals to corporates and institutional investors, from the most vulnerable to the wealthiest; included a second retail banking network, LCL; was present throughout France and on all continents. -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history: 2000s - A new dimensionIn 2001, the regional banks, the majority shareholders of Caisse Nationale de Crédit Agricole, decided to open up its capital to the public. -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history: 1990s - A growing groupCrédit Agricole, no longer under government supervision, was now in control of its destiny. It completed its goal of becoming a universal bank with the ambition of being useful to all. -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history: 1980s - The beginnings of universal bankingIn the early 1980s, Crédit Agricole operated throughout France, including in the largest urban areas. It also began to develop its international network with a growing number of new locations (Frankfurt, Milan, Cairo, Singapore, etc.). -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history: 1970s - From rural to internationalFrom 1971, Crédit Agricole’s geographical scope gradually expanded. -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history: 1960s - A decade of renewalSince 1897, Crédit Agricole received advances from the government each year, which it had to repay. -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history: 1950s - Expansion of the networkIn the early 1950s, Crédit Agricole developed savings inflows to boost financing for French farmers. -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history: 1940s - War and reconstructionThe Second World War disrupted the organisation of Crédit Agricole. -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history : 1930s - Helping farmers through the crisisThe 1929 crisis that began in the United States reached France in the following years. -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history : 1920s - Electricity and housingThe birth of the Caisse Nationale de Crédit Agricole -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history : 1900s - First extension of the scope of actionThe first decade of the 20th century saw Crédit Agricole establish a lasting presence in the regions. -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history : 1890s - A bottom-up organisationCreation of the local banks -
Crédit Agricole 140 years of history : 1880s - Creation in the JuraOur story begins in 1885 in Salins-les-Bains in the Jura.