Credit agricole: a double standard between banking and asset management on climate issues
More than a year after Crédit Agricole announced a measure recognizing the scientific imperative to end oil and gas expansion, Reclaim Finance analyzed the impact this announcement had on the French banking group’s activities as a whole. This note focuses on the practices of Amundi, the flagship subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole group and Europe’s largest asset manager, particularly its investments in companies pursuing fossil fuel expansion. It explains why these recent bond investments have harmful consequences and highlights the emergence of a double standard between Crédit Agricole and its subsidiary.
Key findings:
- Amundi has made many investments in bonds issued in 2024 or 2025 by companies in the fossil fuel sector that Crédit Agricole CIB has pledged not to support.
- These recent investments in companies such as TotalEnergies, BP, Saudi Aramco, and Glencore have harmful consequences. With 51% of the financing for companies involved in the expansion of fossil fuels coming from bond issues, these investments enable companies to finance devastating projects.
- While these investments do not violate Amundi’s current policies, they contradict the climate commitments of its parent company, the Crédit Agricole group, which has publicly stated its intention to “accelerate [its] disengagement from fossil fuels.”
In order to remain credible on its climate commitments and for reasons of transparency and consistency towards its customers, employees, and shareholders, the Crédit Agricole Group must require its subsidiary Amundi to immediately stop supporting companies developing new fossil fuel projects, particularly through its bond investments.