Crédit Agricole can say its path to sustainable finance leadership began back in 1885, through its cooperative banking model built with social usefulness and universality at its core.
That foundation has proven unshakeable. Today, the French banking giant leads global sustainable finance like few others, combining market-leading volumes with genuine innovation and a long-term commitment that weathered 2024’s ESG backlash.
The numbers tell a compelling story. Crédit Agricole CIB ranks number one globally for green and sustainability-linked loans, capturing 9.8% market share with €88.4 billion ($103.3 billion) across 92 transactions in 2024. Since 2021, it has maintained over 7% market share in green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds. Few banks can match this consistency throughout the years.
“The commitment that the group is taking on the climate side is really second to none. For instance, if you look at our policy in the oil and gas sector, I think there is no investment bank going further than that,” says Tanguy Claquin, global head of sustainability at Crédit Agricole CIB.
But leadership isn’t just about league tables. It’s about innovation too. Crédit Agricole pioneered the first corporate green bond in 2013, the first social bond in euros in 2016, and launched the inaugural sustainability-linked bonds in 2019.
In 2024, the bank continued with its knack for building something new: its sustainability-linked loan (SLL) financing bond framework. The innovative SLL financing bond structure helps improving the transparency and accountability of SLLs, by being the first to fully disclose KPI eligibility criteria.
Stability breeds trust. Ford, Orange, Hong Kong Monetary Authority are all clients returning for repeat transactions
Claquin explains: “The SLL market is relatively young and, to improve it, needs an instrument like this, we need transparency and accountability. We thought that through this refinancing instrument, we force ourselves to be transparent on the choice that we’re making. Why do we believe this KPI is good? Why do we believe it’s ambitious?”
Beyond sustainability-linked loans, the bank’s performance also speaks for itself. Green loans reached €21.7 billion in 2024, up 75% since 2022. Low-carbon energy financing hit €26.3 billion – a 141% surge from 2020. For every €4 disengaged from fossil fuel extraction, €14 has flowed to low-carbon energy, according to the bank.
Decarbonisation pathways for the 10 most carbon-intensive sectors have been set, with clear targets defined for 2030. Work on hard-to-abate sectors such as steel shows Crédit Agricole doesn’t shy away from the hard asks.
It was global coordinator, lead manager and ESG structuring adviser on the first euro green steel bond, Voestalpine’s €500m 2029 note. “Steel is key,” explains Claquin. “If you want to manage the transition, you need low-carbon steel.”
“Investors will tell you steel is dark, steel is brown – you cannot do a green bond with steel. We managed to do that because we’re able to quantify carbon reductions very precisely. We can tell our clients it’s possible and help them through this pathway. This is innovation because steel is one of the hardest sectors to finance sustainably.”
Skin in the game
The bank’s unique cooperative structure underpins this consistency. Unlike competitors who may waver during market downturns or political pressure, Crédit Agricole’s 39 regional banks remain committed to net-zero goals and laser-focused on the impact of climate, biodiversity and social inclusion on their regional economies.
With its unique structure of independent boards and senior leadership, divisions could have arisen. But, Crédit Agricole SA chief sustainability and impact officer Eric Campos notes: “Out of the 120 executives in the bank, not one has raised the point of potentially leaving the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. This is why the commitment of the bank is so strong, because it is embedded in the way the business is managed. There is no debate about the focus on net zero.”
Stability breeds trust. Ford, Orange, Hong Kong Monetary Authority are all clients returning for repeat transactions. “When people start working with us, they keep on working with us over the years,” notes Claquin. “That’s the long-termism we’re looking to achieve in sustainable finance.”
Crédit Agricole won Euromoney’s best bank for sustainable finance in Europe in 2024, and with a roster of increasingly global clients, it takes the prize once again.
Its sustainable finance offering goes hand in hand with the work done by subsidiary Amundi, a top-10 asset manager with around €983 billion in responsible assets under management, of which €250 billion aligned with net-zero trajectory. Amundi, like Crédit Agricole, has incorporated ESG criteria into remuneration policy. In 2024, it deployed engagement with more than 1,500 companies specifically on transition towards a low-carbon economy and voted in favour of 82% of climate-related shareholder resolutions.
“We’ve always been extremely consistent as we consider responsible investment as part of our search to create value for our clients” says Jean-Jacques Barbéris, director of the institutional and corporate clients division and ESG at Amundi.
Looking ahead, ambitious targets drive continued growth across industrial and retail clients. The bank aims to structure and finance €19 billion of cumulative renewable energy projects by 2030, as well as financing 50% of new electric or hybrid vehicles by 2025. Financed emissions in oil & gas are on track to be reduced by 75% from 2020 levels.
Powered by a multidisciplinary network of 500 ESG experts across the group, Crédit Agricole keeps expanding its sustainable finance capabilities, leading the way on financing the transition.
