Category: European Union

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: £1.2 million to boost rural transport in the UK

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 2

    Winning projects use the latest innovations to help meet the unique transport needs of people who live in rural areas.

    • eight projects awarded £150,000 each to better connect rural communities
    • winning projects include digital tools that support patients and staff to travel to NHS hospitals
    • funding will enhance travel for rural residents, while delivering greener transport technologies

    People living in rural areas could benefit from smoother and more frequent transport, thanks to government funding announced today (6 November 2025).

    Small businesses have won a share of £1.2 million as part of the Rural Transport Accelerator Fund, which supports the development of innovative concepts that will improve rural transport, in partnership with local authorities. The scheme aims to boost the wellbeing of communities, support rural jobs and kickstart local economies.

    Winners include a digital tool to predict rural transport demand and deliver on-demand services, as well as a journey mapping tool to support health providers in delivering hospital transport for patients.

    The 8 projects, which have won £150,000 each, are spread across the UK’s rural areas and will be trialled from Norfolk to Herefordshire and Suffolk to south east Scotland.

    Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, said:

    People who live in rural areas have unique needs when it comes to transport and we’re always looking for ways to improve connections across the country.

    Through our funding, these projects will shake up the way rural transport is delivered, using the latest innovations to help residents see their friends and family, do their weekly food shop or attend hospital appointments.

    The winning projects include:

    • You.Smart.Thing – development of a digital tool to offer shared, demand responsive or community transport options for those without car access, trialled in Warwickshire
    • UrbanTide – mapping rural hospital patient journeys to identify barriers to accessing health services in rural areas and support health providers in enhancing rural transport services, trialled near Fife
    • Alchera Technologies – use of data insights to create a behavioural travel model to help local authorities with rural mobility decision making, trialled in Norfolk County Council
    • Civil Water Management – installation of new drainage systems using recycled car tyres to aid safer cycling along flood-prone sections of cycle routes, trialled in Milton Keynes County Council

    This year’s scheme called for solutions to a number of challenges that rural areas face:

    • the importance of rural roads for everyday journeys
    • driving towards a sustainable future
    • enabling innovation in rural mobility
    • advancements in agricultural transportation
    • open challenge – building communities and enabling adoption of technology in rural areas

    The grant is delivered in collaboration with the Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport and place leadership

    Connected Places Catapult’s Chief Executive Officer, Erika Lewis, said:

    I am delighted to welcome 8 exciting companies onto the Rural Transport Accelerator.

    Their innovations and technologies promise to make a real impact for people living in rural areas, and I look forward to following their progress through the programme over the coming months.

    Roads media enquiries

    Media enquiries 0300 7777 878

    Switchboard 0300 330 3000

    Updates to this page

    Published 6 November 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Better Care for Mental Health Patients Under Major Reforms

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 2

    Mental Health Act reformed to improve treatment of patients and address disparities

    • Outdated Mental Health Act modernised to better support patients, treat them more humanely, and address disparities

    • Reforms will introduce statutory care and treatment plans, end the use of police and prison cells to place people experiencing a mental health crisis, and end the inappropriate detention of autistic people and people with learning disabilities

    • Greater involvement of patients, families and carers will improve treatment whilst protecting patients, staff and the wider public

    New laws will give patients sectioned under the Mental Health Act more dignity and say over their care in long-awaited updates to be introduced in Parliament today (Wednesday, 6 November).

    Currently, outdated laws do not meet modern standards and fail to give patients an adequate voice. For example, individuals experiencing severe mental illness can be placed in police cells, and the law automatically gives a patient’s nearest relative – rather than the person of their choosing such as a partner – a say in decisions about their care.

    Black people are over three times more likely to be detained under the Act, whilst those with a learning disability and autistic people are also found to be inappropriately sectioned. Patients currently have little say over their care and treatment should they be detained, or over who should be involved in making decision related to their care, such as family members and carers. 

    The new Mental Health Bill addresses the significant changes in attitudes towards mental illness since the original Act was passed, recognising outdated laws around the treatment of people in a mental health crisis are no longer tolerable. Modernising the Bill was a manifesto commitment and will reform the existing Mental Health Act to make it fit for purpose, improving patients’ experiences of hospital and mental health outcomes, while also introducing stronger protections for patients, staff and the general public.

    This includes making it a legal requirement for each patient to have ‘care and treatment plans’ tailored and shaped by their individual needs that will make clear what is needed to progress them to discharge. The Bill will also give patients the right to elect a person to represent their interests and greater access to advocacy when they are detained. Together, these reforms will make it more likely for patients to stay in contact with health services and continue to engage with treatment.

    As well as ensuring patients have a voice in their care, the reforms also recognise the critical role that families and carers can play in keeping patients safe – providing insight and knowledge of a patient’s wishes and preferences and an understanding of what keeps them safe – including when a patient is too unwell to express this themselves. The Bill will strengthen the rights of families and carers through changes to the Nominated Person role, and require clinicians to consult with others close to the patient as they make decisions around their care where appropriate or where the patient wishes.  

    Police and prison cells will also no longer be used to place people experiencing a mental health crisis, as well as creating more space for police forces to hold criminal suspects. Instead, patients will be supported to access a suitable healthcare facility that will better support their needs.

    The Mental Health Act is vital to keeping people safe when necessary. It will continue to provide clinicians with the powers to admit and treat people if they become a risk to themselves or others.

    Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, said:

    Our outdated mental health system is letting down some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and is in urgent need of reform.

    The treatment of autistic people and people with learning disabilities, and the way in which black people are disproportionately targeted by the act should shame us all.

    By bringing the Mental Health Act in line with the 21st Century, we will make sure patients are treated with dignity and respect and the public are kept safe.

    Safety is paramount, which is why the Bill also includes measures to ensure patients, staff and the general public are better protected. The Bill will improve decision making around detention, discharge, care and treatment. As part of this, the Bill will introduce a new requirement for the Responsible Clinician to consult another person before they discharge a patient. Increased access to second opinion doctors will help ensure care is appropriate, compassionate and effective. Discharge processes will also be reviewed more broadly and will include a safety management plan for the patient, to keep themselves and other safe.  

    Claire Murdoch, NHS National Mental Health Director, said:

    This new Mental Health Act is a once in a generation opportunity to ensure that patients experiencing serious mental illness and crises receive safe, modern, evidence-based care, and that the needs and wishes of patients and their loved ones are central to care and better mental health outcomes.

    This comes alongside the NHS’s work to transform mental health services – either through intervening earlier with hundreds of NHS teams working in schools, or trialling new 24/7 crisis mental health hubs to prevent people needing hospital care in the first place, and if an admission to hospital is needed the health service is working with local services to ensure this is delivered in a safe and therapeutic environment close to people’s homes.

    Lord Timpson, Minister for Prisons and Probation, said: 

    This Bill will rightly end the use of prison cells for people who need care under the Mental Health Act and ensure they get the urgent specialist help they need.

    It will also mean prisoners requiring mental health hospital treatment are transferred quicker, and builds on our ongoing work to ensure prisons make better citizens and not better criminals.

    Whilst there have been decreases in the number of detentions from 2021/22 and 2022/23, latest data from NHS England shows an increase in 2023/24 with 22,000 people subject to the Act as of September.

    An independent review of the Mental Health Act, chaired by Professor Sir Simon Wessely, President of the Royal Society of Medicine, and commissioned by former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2017, found rising rates of detention under the Act, racial disparities, poor patient experience especially for autistic people and those with a learning disability.    

    For those with a learning disability or autistic people, the Act will be amended to place a limit of 28 days for which they can be detained unless they have a co-occuring mental health condition.

    Professor Sir Simon Wessely, Chair of the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act, said:

    I am delighted that at long last a new Mental Health Act bill is to go before Parliament. No one doubts that it is time to modernise our legislation, in order to achieve the goal of reducing coercion and increasing choice for those who suffer from the most severe mental illnesses.

    Our reforms will achieve that by ensuring better treatment and discharge planning with more family involvement, replacing outdated Victorian rules, and by reforming community treatment orders tackle unacceptable ethnic differences. Most of all ensuring that more attention is given to patient preferences will improve compliance with essential treatment, reduce coercion, whilst still protecting the public where necessary.

    Reforms in the Mental Health Bill aim to improve patient experiences, choice and autonomy as well as tackling racial discrimination and better supporting those with learning disabilities.

    This includes:

    • Increase the frequency of clinical reviews, to better ensure that the treatment patients receive is appropriate

    • Update the use of Community Treatment Orders, so that they are only used when appropriate and proportionate

    • Limit the length of time that people with a learning disability and/or autistic people can be detained under the Act, if they do not have a co-occurring mental disorder that needs hospital treatment and have not committed a criminal offence

    • End the use of police and prison cells for detaining someone experiencing a mental health crisis instead of getting them access to a facility where they can get the proper support, such as a hospital

    • Speed up transfers from prison to hospital by limiting the time it can take to transfer prisoners who need treatment in a mental health hospital to a maximum of 28 days

    The action follows the introduction of one of the world’s first all-hours mental health crisis support service in August through NHS 111. The government also announced £26 million will be invested to open new mental health crisis centres as part of last week’s Budget, with extra funding also secured to provide talking therapies to an extra 380,000 patients.

    For people who need support at A&E, every emergency department in England now also has a liaison psychiatric team available to offer specialist care. 

    A full list of mental health support options is available via the NHS.uk website. The service is also suitable for deaf people, with tailored services available via the NHS 111 website.

    Commenting on the announcement, Mark Rowland, Chief Executive at the Mental Health Foundation, said:

    These long overdue updates to the Mental Health Act cannot come soon enough. People need support that reflects our modern understanding of how to help and care for people during a mental health crisis – not our understanding four decades ago. The original version of the Act has driven racial disparities, stripped those who are sectioned of their humanity in a wholly unnecessary way, and all too often made crises worse.

    We particularly welcome reforms to give greater say to patients, such as granting people with severe mental health problems more control over who makes decisions for them during a crisis, banning the use of police cells as ‘places of safety’ for people experiencing a crisis, and addressing the inappropriate use of Community Treatment Orders, which Black people were 11 times more likely to receive. We will look to work with the Department of Health and Social Care over the next weeks and months to help shape the Mental Health Bill and put dignity at the heart of how our public services support people experiencing a mental health crisis.

    Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive, Rethink Mental Illness, said:

    People tell us that the Mental Health Act has saved their life, but that the experience was horrendous. It is hard to fathom that when people are at their most unwell they are still routinely placed in prison cells, have no say in who is appointed as their nearest relative and have so little involvement in their treatment.

    Reform of this vital legislation is long overdue, and today marks another important step towards the reality of a Mental Health Act fit for the 21st century. Reform should help ensure people are with dignity and respect, and help to protect us all.

    We hope the Bill is given careful passage through Parliament so it can be swiftly implemented, and bring improvements for the thousands of people who are detained under the act every year.

    Updates to this page

    Published 6 November 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI: Cycling Enthusiasts Gear Up for the Upcoming Two-Day 2024 Areti Gran Prix Cyprus

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LIMASSOL, CYPRUS, Nov. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The vibrant local cycling community INEX CLUB is organizing the 2024 ARETI Gran Prix Cyprus on November 9-10, 2024, in the picturesque coastal city of Limassol, Cyprus. The organizers have designed the exhilarating two-day cycling event to challenge cyclists of all skill levels with two distinct stages, each offering a unique experience.

    On day one, cyclists will tackle the 70km Coastal Challenge from Limassol to Pentakomo. This route offers stunning coastal views that showcase the region’s natural beauty. On day two, a fast-paced 30km circuit race around Limassol’s new port area provides an exciting urban racing experience for both participants and spectators.

    Ilnur Zakarin, co-founder of the INEX CLUB, expressed his enthusiasm for the race. “The 2024 Areti Gran Prix Cyprus is a celebration of cycling and our region’s beautiful landscapes. We’re excited to provide a platform for cyclists to challenge themselves and inspire others to embrace this wonderful sport.”

    At the end of the race, participants and their supporters will gather at the Finish Line Village, where a lively celebration awaits. According to the INEX team, the village will be filled with refreshments, flags, and inflatables, creating a colorful and welcoming ambiance.

    The organizers encourage families and friends to come out and cheer on the cyclists as the 2024 Areti Gran Prix Cyprus will also culminate in an awards ceremony recognizing the outstanding performances of all participants.

    Sponsorship and Community Support

    The generous sponsorship of ARETI International Group, founded by Igor Makarov makes the 2024 Cyprus Gran Prix possible. A former professional cyclist and member of the UCI Management Committee, Makarov has dedicated his efforts to promoting cycling worldwide.

    Makarov’s cycling career includes initiatives and involvement with various cycling organizations, such as the Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC). He has also supported local charity rides like the “Tour de Broward” and “The Hublot Best Buddies Challenge: Miami.”

    The former cyclist also founded and sponsored the Katusha Team, a professional cycling team that competed successfully on the World Tour from 2009 to 2019.

    Sponsoring the 2024 Areti Gran Prix Cyprus marks Igor Makarov’s second collaboration with INEX CLUB, following the successful INEX Charity Ride held earlier this year. As a Cyprus citizen, Makarov is committed to supporting local cycling initiatives and nurturing young Cypriot talent through comprehensive support and training.

    “The 2024 Gran Prix Cyprus aims to bring together cycling enthusiasts while inspiring new young talents. We hope this race is not the last but just the start of the continuous development of the sport in the beautiful Cyprus region,” Igor Makarov mentions.

    For the complete registration details of the 2024 Areti Gran Prix Cyprus, please visit https://inex.club/granprixcyprus.

    About INEX CLUB

    Ex-professional cyclists Ilnur Zakarin and Viacheslav Kuznetsov, who have over 20 years of cycling experience, founded the INEX CLUB. They’ve won big races like the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France and completed over 15 Grand Tours. In 2023, they decided to end their professional careers and transfer their valuable experience and passion to change the cycling world in Cyprus.

    Contact Information

    Brand: ZAK INEX CLUB LTD

    Contact: Yuliia Tumenko

    Email: events@inex.club

    Website: https://inex.club

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI China: China’s top legislator holds talks with Hungarian official

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, holds talks with Laszlo Kover, Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 5, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    China’s top legislator Zhao Leji held talks with Laszlo Kover, speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, in Beijing on Tuesday.

    Zhao, chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Hungary, and in May, the two sides elevated bilateral relations to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era.

    China is willing to work with Hungary to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, consolidate the momentum of high-level exchanges, enhance strategic communication and cooperation, and embark on a new chapter of practical cooperation, jointly creating a bright future, Zhao added.

    Zhao also expressed China’s willingness to strengthen policy communication with Hungary in various fields, deepen high-level political mutual trust, firmly support each other’s core interests, and consolidate the political foundation of China-Hungary friendship.

    The Chinese side is willing to promote a deep synergy of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Hungary’s “Opening to the East” policy, accelerate the construction of the Hungary-Serbia railway, and expand cooperation in emerging areas such as clean energy, digital economy, and artificial intelligence, to comprehensively elevate the level of cooperation, said Zhao.

    Noting that China’s NPC and the Hungarian National Assembly have maintained a long-standing and good relationship, Zhao said the two sides should further strengthen exchanges and interactions at different levels, to enhance mutual understanding, trust, and friendship. He also called on the legislative institutions of the two sides to strengthen coordination and cooperation in multilateral forums, promoting global governance that is more conducive to maintaining world peace and international fairness and justice.

    Kover said Hungary firmly adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to seize the opportunity of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations to strengthen cooperation with China in various fields, including jointly building the BRI, promoting economic and trade investment, Hungary-Serbia railway construction, and people-to-people exchanges, to contribute to the cooperation between Central and Eastern European countries and China, as well as the development of EU-China relations.

    The Hungarian National Assembly is committed to enhancing friendly exchanges with China’s NPC, to make active contributions to the development of bilateral relations, Kover added.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI China: Global climate crisis requires cooperation, not geopolitics

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Participants pose for a group photo during the sixth Friends of the Paris Agreement High-Level Dialogue in Paris, France, on Oct. 28, 2024. [Photo/The European Climate Foundation]

    Climate change knows no borders and demands a coordinated global response. The 2015 Paris Agreement was a landmark achievement in multilateral climate governance, with countries pledging collective action to mitigate carbon emissions.

    However, geopolitical tensions increasingly complicate the path to unified global climate action. Some nations are undermining international trust through protectionist policies and trade barriers driven by self-interest.

    Amid this backdrop, the recent sixth Friends of the Paris Agreement High-Level Dialogue, held in Paris on Oct. 28-29, offered a platform to reflect on the progress and challenges of global climate cooperation.

    In an exclusive interview with China.org.cn, Jiang Feng, a researcher at Shanghai International Studies University and chairman of the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance & Area Studies, emphasized that combating climate change requires international collaboration rather than divisive geopolitics. 

    He emphasized the need for stronger China-Europe cooperation, warning that recent countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) could undermine global efforts to reduce emissions.

    Jiang noted that the Paris Agreement established ambitious, binding targets for global carbon emissions reduction, reflecting a consensus on the urgency of climate action. China, instrumental in shaping and committing to the Paris goals, has made notable progress and received widespread recognition. However, not all countries are showing the same level of commitment; some engage in more rhetoric than action and politicize the transfer of technology.

    Participants at the Paris meeting expressed concerns about the possible negative impact of the upcoming U.S. election on global emissions reduction efforts.

    A key takeaway from the dialogue was the need to broaden the focus of climate measures beyond just emissions reduction targets. Jiang stressed that technological innovation, biodiversity preservation and energy structure transformation should also be prioritized.

    “The Paris Agreement represents a shift – a need for humanity to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” he stated, calling it a historic opportunity for sustainable development.

    Such a transition requires countries to rethink their development philosophies and models to address the core issues of climate change. Jiang pointed to China’s investment in renewable energy as a key example. With strong policies, substantial investments, and technological innovation, China has fueled significant growth in renewables, supporting its economy while also aiding the global energy transition and emissions reduction.

    Jiang also highlighted the ambitious goals set by the European Union and some member states in their fight against climate change. For example, Aachen in Germany and RWTH Aachen University aim for carbon neutrality by 2030 – 15 years ahead of Germany’s national target. Jiang noted that this and other examples show a strong awareness among several countries in addressing climate change, bringing together governments, universities, businesses, and civil society.

    Yet, despite significant achievements, many challenges remain, particularly in the transfer of green technology. “Many innovative technologies are not being fully utilized due to rising geopolitics and trade protectionism, which politicize and instrumentalize the transfer of essential technologies and products globally,” Jiang lamented.

    The EU’s recent five-year imposition of countervailing duties on Chinese EVs illustrates this dilemma. Jiang stated that some countries have maliciously labeled China’s success in the photovoltaic and electric vehicle sectors as “overcapacity.” While the measure aims to give European manufacturers a “window” to strengthen their industries, experts fear it creates unnecessary barriers to technology exchange. Given that European industries require China’s advanced EV technology, such measures may ultimately hinder both Europe’s and global progress toward renewable energy. Instead of imposing trade restrictions, Jiang urged nations to create a supportive and collaborative environment for green technology transfer.

    During the dialogue, Chinese representatives met with experts from the International Energy Agency and European institutions to discuss enhancing mutual understanding and cooperation.

    Jiang emphasized the importance of China-Europe collaboration, suggesting that as key global players, they should jointly plan technology research, development, and transfer projects for third parties or other regions, making these technologies more market-oriented and industrialized.

    “This can not only aid third-party countries and regions but also open up new opportunities for China-Europe collaboration, creating growth drivers for their relationship,” he explained.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI Russia: “Better Than Yesterday.” Stories of Moscow Creative Universities Graduates

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    Just recently, these young artists were still studying: they went to rehearsals, wrote notes, took exams and began to seriously join the world of art. Today, they are members of the most famous creative groups in the country, they go out on the big stage – and the audience is gradually learning their names. The stories of an opera soloist, a jazz musician, an actor and an actress – in the material mos.ru.

    Janis Shklyaev: “The main thing is not to lose the fire”

    Graduate of the Moscow State Institute of Music named after A.G. Schnittke

    — I liked singing since childhood, and that’s when I started going on stage. After school, I entered the Krasnoyarsk College of Arts named after P.I. Ivanov-Radkevich, where my passion for singing only grew stronger. Then, however, I had to take a break in my career: I was called up for military service. But music accompanied me there too: I joined the Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Russian Army named after A.V. Alexandrov.

    Then I returned to Krasnoyarsk, got a job in the Siberian Male Choir, completed one course in the vocal department of the Siberian State Institute of Arts named after D.A. Hvorostovsky. Then I decided to move to the capital – I entered the Moscow State Institute of Music named after A.G. Schnittke. I was enrolled in the class of People’s Artist of Russia Mikhail Kizin.

    After graduating from the institute, I joined the Chelyabinsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after M.I. Glinka. I love all my roles, but especially the part of Lensky from “Eugene Onegin”. From a technical point of view, it poses challenges that are interesting to solve, and from an emotional point of view, it helps to reveal my temperament. By the way, I now see my hero completely differently, I find something in him that I had not noticed before. At school, when I read the novel, the image of Lensky was more lyrical for me, but now I feel his tragedy, his inner impulses. And in the future, I would like to perform the part of Maurice from the opera “Adriana Lecouvreur” by composer Francesco Cilea.

    The most pleasant thing about my work is to see the audience in the hall, to give them emotions, to awaken feelings, to let them experience the work together with me. I would advise those who have decided to study this profession not to lose the fire and desire to do it. Of course, the support of loved ones is also important. I was lucky: on my way I met understanding, knowledgeable teachers who believed in my strength, helped me overcome difficulties. I am especially grateful to all of them – as well as to my parents.

    Konstantin Boytsov: “We felt like rock stars”

    Graduate of the Jazz Academy

    — Like many children, I went to music school — more for general development. My parents couldn’t even imagine that I would seriously want to become a musician. Once I even decided to quit music school, but then I accidentally saw a concert of jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis on the Internet. I watched it over and over again, and each time I was captivated by these melodies. Then I fell in love with the music of Canadian bassist Alain Caron and saxophonist Michael Brecker. Jazz became real magic for me — I realized that I wanted to learn to improvise myself. When I told my parents about this, they supported me: my mother helped me find a teacher to prepare me for admission and bought me my first saxophone. Then I realized that talent is not the main component of success, work, self-development and discipline are much more important.

    And at the age of 16, I got to a concert by Igor Butman. Igor Mikhailovich became a source of inspiration for me – it seems, forever. And I am very happy that now I work in the Moscow Jazz Orchestra under his direction. Of course, it is not always easy: sometimes tours, flights and relocations are difficult, but it pays off with a huge number of stories, emotions that we get while traveling. And also with a range of feelings when we see the enthusiastic faces of people in the audience. This is the most valuable and precious thing in our work.

    I remember with particular warmth a concert in St. Petersburg, in which I participated when I was still a first-year student at the Academy. We were invited to an orchestral battle, there were almost 40 people on one stage. We played swing from the 1920s and 1930s, and the audience danced right in front of us. The atmosphere was incredible, we felt like real rock stars from the jazz world.

    Nelly Khaperskaya: “Acting is like a sport”

    Oleg Tabakov’s Theatre School

    — I come from a circus family, I spent my entire childhood in the arena and behind the scenes of the circus. Therefore, there were never any doubts about choosing a creative profession. Of course, everyone thought that I would follow in my parents’ footsteps, but completely by chance I passed the casting at Konstantin Khabensky’s studio, and there I realized that I wanted to connect my life with Oleg Tabakov’s School, and then with his theater. True, at first my dad did not want me to move away from the circus. But it seems to me that the circus and theater coexist quite closely: the skills I acquired in childhood were very useful in the acting profession.

    As a result, I entered the Oleg Tabakov School. I consider Vladimir Mashkov my main teacher, he is my creative dad. He gave me life in this profession, opened the doors to it. For me, Vladimir Lvovich is an example, I consider him a genius. This applies not only to the profession: he will always help those who need it. You want to follow him further and conquer new heights.

    I realized that acting is like a sport. You always have to work, constantly improve your knowledge and skills, constantly be in training and rehearsals. Every day you have to become better than you were yesterday. It’s not easy. For the guys who are just thinking about whether to connect their lives with the acting profession or not, I would say this: if you are passionate about it, then difficulties are pleasant.

    Now I work at the Oleg Tabakov Theatre. Among the productions I participate in is “Matrosskaya Tishina”, where I play Tanya. This is a legendary performance that Oleg Pavlovich himself staged. I go on stage with my teachers. Of course, they help a lot with advice, as always. In fact, we have been on the professional stage since our first years – this is a feature of the Oleg Tabakov Theatre School. Even when I was a student, I got roles in “Passions for Bumbarash”, “Fight”, “My Fair Lady”, “The Elder Son”, “Atom of the Sun”, “Heirs” and, actually, in “Matrosskaya Tishina”. Not all of these performances are in the repertoire now, but I sincerely love each role.

    Shvartsy from Tulchin. The story of Oleg Tabakov’s most anticipated performance

    Egor Khokhlov: “I understood where my place is”

    Oleg Tabakov’s Theatre School

    — When I entered the Oleg Tabakov Theatre School, I doubted my decision to become an actor, I didn’t fully understand who I wanted to be. But I saw the teachers, looked at the other guys — and suddenly I understood where my place was. A happy accident, it can happen to anyone. The main thing is to be attentive to yourself and feel it.

    At first, I was worried about how my family would react to my decision: no one is connected with the theater. Besides, it is a profession with zero guarantees, you can fail in it at all – there are hundreds, thousands of such examples. But my parents were understanding, very supportive, believed in me. I am also grateful to my teachers – first of all, Vladimir Mashkov, Alena Lapteva, Vitaly Egorov. Over the five years of study, they did a lot for us. They said that you need to study and improve constantly. To evoke emotions in the viewer, to push them to certain thoughts – all this requires colossal efforts.

    I started performing on stage at the Oleg Tabakov Theatre when I was still a student. This idea belongs to Oleg Pavlovich: he believed that students should see how professional artists work – this is the only way to pass on the profession to the young. My senior colleagues and teachers helped with advice and continue to do so. Now I am involved in several performances, including “Bumbarash Passion”, “Deadly Act” and “The Hunt to Live”.

    I think the most important piece of advice I can give to aspiring actors is this: Don’t be afraid to jump into every situation that comes your way. The stage is hard, and you have to be prepared for anything. Take every chance you get, try to imitate the behavior of different people. And one more thing that’s very important: Don’t be shy.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    http://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/146210073/

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Knights of Sport: How the Burevestnik Fencing School Prepares Olympians

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    These guys have been wearing armor since the age of eight — impenetrable clothing, they can calculate moves in seconds, gallantly attack and defend themselves: they are fencers. This art has long since moved from combat to sports. It is a matter of honor for modern knights to become the first, to win in capital, Russian and international competitions. This is taught at the Sports School of the Olympic Reserve (SShOR) “Youth of Moscow” in fencing “Petrel”She turned 75 at the beginning of November.

    mos.ru correspondents visited a training session at the school and learned how to enroll, why the young fencers’ suits are connected to an electrical device, and also the differences between a foil, an epee, and a sabre.

    “Order” of Fencers

    The Youth of Moscow Fencing School Burevestnik is located at the Iskra stadium near the Botanichesky Sad metro station. The light-grey building is hidden behind a fence, a football field and trees, like a medieval castle.

    “The fencing department opened in 1949 at the Burevestnik stadium on Samarsky Lane in the Meshchansky district. The first and only fencing coach was frontline soldier Lev Matsukevich. Fencing was then considered a little-known sport in the USSR, but the director’s enthusiasm was enough to interest schoolchildren. One of his students was Mark Rakita, who later became a two-time Olympic champion. In the 1960s, Burevestnik was headed by senior coach, Honored Coach of the USSR Vladimir Ganson, who managed to create a team of like-minded people. In 1967, the school received the status of Olympic reserve, and our students repeatedly confirmed it with their victories. In 1977, construction of the Olympic sports complex began on the site of Burevestnik. Since then – and this is almost half a century – the Iskra stadium has been our home,” says Anna Ilyaskina, master of sports in fencing, honored coach of Russia, director of the sports school of the Olympic reserve “Youth of Moscow” in fencing “Burevestnik”.

    The display case at the entrance to the building displays sports trophies: cups, mostly gold. There are also Olympic awards: at the 2008 Games in Beijing, Burevestnik alumnus Victoria Nikishina won gold in the foil team, and in 2012 in London, foil fencer Aida Shanaeva won silver in the team tournament. “Our senior coach Andrei Alshan does not recognize simple participation in competitions and any places other than first. In reality, there are many more cups, there is not enough room for them all!” the mos.ru interviewee smiles.

    Guys of different ages run past us, smart, with their backs straight and their heads held high. They greet each other politely. Fencing also requires good manners. During the holidays, you can finally train in the morning, and not just in the evening after school. Some of the guys come here and stay, dedicating their lives to fencing. It is not just a hobby, but an honor, pride, the meaning of life, the desire to win all the competitions in the world.

    “Today, about 60 percent of students are girls. Usually, people start coming to us at the age of eight. We only accept those who have passed the entrance exams. In addition, in order to stay, you have to pass the control and transfer standards every year, and starting from the third year of study, you have to annually fulfill or confirm your sports category,” the director explains.

     

    To enter the initial training group, you need to pass sports standards: running a distance of 30 meters, bending forward from a standing position on a gymnastic bench, long jump, bending and unbending arms in a support position lying on the floor. Those who managed to pass this entrance test come to classes three times a week, from the second or third year of study – four to five times. One training session lasts an hour and a half, and at the stage of higher sports skills – four.

    Cords, guard and one and a half feet

    In the gym, a girl of about 12 is doing a concentrated warm-up before training: she does push-ups, bends over, touching her left and right toes with an outstretched hand. At the same time, she believes that there should be a certain number of exercises, and that attentiveness, discipline, and punctuality are the necessary qualities of a fencer.

    “The competition season has started, the guys are preparing for tournaments, including the Moscow Cup in fencing and qualifying competitions,” explains Anna Ilyaskina.

    The clanking of metal can be heard. The future participants of the competition are crossing weapons on the tracks. They are wearing non-slip sneakers, white breeches, golf socks, jackets and masks made of a small impenetrable metal mesh that covers the entire face, including the chin. “The clothes, although soft, cannot be pierced. They are made of a special fabric – Kevlar,” our interlocutor explains. This material resembles chain mail, but is very thin and weightless.

    A cord runs under the fencers’ clothing. One end with a plug sticks out of the sleeve: the weapon is connected to it. The other end, from under the hem of the jacket, is connected to a cord that leads to a reel, and from the reel to a small device. As soon as a participant strikes an opponent, the device transmits a signal to the board – and a light comes on there.

    “Why are the suits white? Because until the late 1950s there was no electrical device to record the injection. The tip of the weapon was dipped in special paint and this way they tracked the injection sites, which were clearly visible on light fabric,” says the school principal.

    The location of the wires under the suits depends on the type of weapon the fencer uses: each has its own striking surface. So, with a rapier you need to stab precisely into the electric jacket, which looks like a vest, with a sword – all over the body, and with a sabre – chop in the area from the waist to the crown.

    “This is not the only difference between the types of weapons. For example, a rapier has four edges, the blade is 90 centimeters long. It must be held in a bent arm, the elbow at the level of the protruding femur. In a rapier and a saber, there is tactical correctness: first the attacker pricks, then the defender. The judge decides who was right. The existing rules of the competition cannot be violated, otherwise the prick will not be counted,” says Marianna Dzakhova, a master of sports in rapier fencing.

    The epee is the heaviest: it weighs 750 grams. Those who take it out on the track can stab each other at the same time, hiding their hand behind the guard – a small hemispherical shield above the handle. And the sabre is the lightest and the only type of weapon that not only stabs, but also chops with the entire surface of the blade. To wield it, you need a quick reaction. A second – and you are defeated.

    What fencing has in common is the position of the feet. “You need to stand heel to heel and spread your toes. Then spread your feet one and a half feet apart and bend your knees. It is important to always remember this distance during movements, otherwise you will lose your balance and be vulnerable,” adds Marianna Dzakhova.

    Olympic scope

    There are 17 coaches working at Burevestnik. Nine of them are former pupils of the school.

    “I received a higher education in sports and wanted to work here. But there were no vacancies at that time, so I got a job as an instructor-methodologist at the Olympic Reserve Sports School “Youth of Moscow” in luge. Only seven years later, when I was already the deputy director, the opportunity arose to return to my native school as a coach. Both my uncles are masters of sports in sabre and graduates of “Burevestnik”, they were the ones who brought me here as a girl,” says master of sports in epee coach Anna Salykova.

    There are also graduates who do not work as coaches, but, having received the title of Master of Sports and even World Champion, still attend Burevestnik. Fencing is for life.

    “I came to Burevestnik when I was 11, now I am 23. There is no opportunity to participate in the Olympics yet, but I am not giving up. The goal of probably all fencers is to win gold at the Olympic Games. And age is not an obstacle in this sport. For example, one world champion from Italy continues to participate and win competitions, although she is 40 years old,” says Darya Drozd, a master of sabre, bronze medalist of the world championship, winner of the European championship and member of the Moscow and Russian teams.

    In anticipation of Olympic victories, master of sports in epee fencing Alexander Sobolev, multiple winner of the Russian championship and member of the capital and national teams, comes to the school for training. The young man, who is now 21, entered Burevestnik at the age of nine and practically never leaves the gym. “In the evening, I have to leave for competitions, and he is here. In the morning, fresh off the train, he runs to school and grabs his epee. Although athletes rest before and after competitions,” laughs Anna Ilyaskina.

    Another young man, 23-year-old Magamed Khalimbekov, a master of sports in sabre, silver medalist of the world championship and winner of the European championship, national champion, moved to Moscow from Dagestan. “Wrestling is popular here, and my family was involved in this sport. And a fencer needs a sharp mind, quick reactions, strong legs. At first, I didn’t have anything like that,” he admits.

    School pupil Victoria Yusova, an international master of sports in foil, bronze medalist of the world championship and member of the Russian national team, could have left fencing forever: at the international competition in Doha, she tore her Achilles tendon and underwent two operations. But the girl continued training and won silver at the Russian Fencing Cup and bronze twice at the Russian Championship as part of the Moscow team. Victoria Yusova also helps wheelchair Paralympians hone their skills. “There are no victories without defeats,” the athlete notes.

     

    Sports for mature minds

    However, according to Anna Ilyaskina, it is not necessary to dedicate your life only to fencing. Many manage to combine sports and higher education at a non-core university. For example, Ivan Tsypin, a master of sports in sabre and bronze medalist of the Russian championship, multiple winner of Russian championships, is a second-year student at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. “My father always said: “There can be several priorities, the main thing is to set them correctly,” the young man smiles.

    Mikhail Kovalenko, a master of sports in sabre, winner of the Moscow and Russian championships, entered the economics department of the MISiS University of Science and Technology. “Sometimes I have to skip lectures for the sake of training, but the institute is understanding. Sport does not interfere with my studies, on the contrary, it helps. After all, an athlete is a person with a metal rod inside,” the young man notes.

    By the way, Mikhail Kovalenko joined Burevestnik at the age of 13, broke his arm several times and missed important competitions. But nothing stopped him.

    “In fact, fencing is a sport for mature minds. You need to think analytically, calculate moves, and not react to a hot head. The more mature you are, the better and more reliable it will be,” sums up senior sabre trainer Andrey Alshan, six-time world champion, Olympic silver medalist, and Honored Master of Sports of the USSR.

    Sobyanin spoke about the reconstruction of the legendary Olympic sports complexSwimming, Boxing or Golf: Which Sport to Choose for Your ChildMoscow Mayor: Sports have become a natural part of the capital’s urban spaceFrom personal training to large projects: how Moscow is developing infrastructure for an active and healthy lifestyle

    You can enroll your child in the Youth of Moscow Sports School for Fencing “Burevestnik”, as well as in another sports school or section on the portal mos.ru.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    http://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/146220073/

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI China: Historical sites and artifacts impress foreign experts

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    While several expats are admiring the intricate animal patterns on an ancient Chinese bronze object, others are carefully listening to a tour guide explain the skill and wisdom behind the craftsmanship.

    It was part of the “Exploring China “Henan Tour event in Zhengzhou, Luoyang and Anyang in Central China’s Henan province from Sunday to Tuesday.

    Participants of the “Exploring China” Henan Tour admire a bronze ware at Henan Museum in Zhengzhou city. XU LIN/CHINA DAILY

    More than 40 foreign experts in classical studies from 13 countries visited Henan’s heritage sites, Longmen Grottoes and the Yinxu Museum, immersing themselves in the rich Chinese culture and civilization.

    Two other groups joined the tours in Shandong province, visiting places like the Temple of Confucius, and in Sichuan province, traveling to key archaeological sites like Sanxingdui and Jinsha.

    These experts are participants in the World Conference of Classics, being held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday.

    “I’m excited to visit China for the first time, and I plan to travel to China again with my family, to see more of its deep culture and history,” says Michael Trapp, emeritus professor of Greek literature and thought at King’s College London.

    Before setting out, he sought advice from his Chinese doctoral student in London and his brother, a Chinese language translator who often travels to China for work. Both suggested that given his passion for history, archaeology and art, he would find his visit to Henan particularly captivating, which he does.

    At the museums, he finds that the use of modern technology has made historical sites more accessible to a modern audience, striking a delicate balance between preserving ancient materials and showing their history vividly via replicas and digital reconstructions. “This endeavor requires considerable effort and creativity,” he says.

    He believes that it’s wonderful to see the massive size of the Erlitou Site in Luoyang and the artifacts excavated from it at the nearby museum. It shows the archaeological process of their discovery.

    Thomas Michael from the United States, professor at School of Philosophy, Beijing Normal University, who does research into Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, agrees.

    “I’ve read about all these places, but it’s the first time to see various artifacts about the origins and downfall of the Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC) and the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century-771 BC),” he says. “It’s amazing to see the ancient centers of Chinese civilization. These are important periods for Confucianism. … The Confucian tradition goes all the way back to Zhougong (the Duke of Zhou) from the Western Zhou Dynasty.”

    The duke was believed to have been a prolific author with humanistic ideas and written Rites of Zhou, a fundamental ancient Chinese classic on organizational theory.

    Mary Evelyn Tucker, a senior lecturer and research scholar at Yale University, says: “It’s exciting to have this cultural tour to Henan and see that China is recovering its own traditional past. … China’s modernization has developed very rapidly over the past 40 years since my first visit to the country in 1985.”

    Her research fields include Confucianism and ecology. China is moving toward ecological civilization, she says, which has greatly changed its ecology, society and spirituality.

    She says that Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism have the cultural values for an awakening of environmental consciousness, for example, the concept of “heaven and man are united as one” in Chinese philosophy.

    Costas Synolakis, the Chair of Earth Sciences in the Academy of Athens, points out that “it’s great to see the different periods of Chinese history and how its art evolves”.

    His research focuses on how people in ancient Greece and Rome understood and dealt with extreme disasters. He’s surprised to find that the ancient Chinese tried to control floods about 4,000 years ago when he visited Henan’s museums. “It’s around the 4th and 5th centuries BC that people in the Mediterranean started to understand that floods and earthquakes are natural phenomena. … It’s motivating for me to learn much more about Chinese culture, especially the recorded floods in its history.”

    According to him, many people associate China’s history with its dynasties, but are not familiar with the country’s ancient capitals in Henan and how the Chinese shifted these ancient capitals in history. That’s why the trip has impressed him greatly.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI: CREDIT AGRICOLE SA : Crédit Agricole Immobilier announces the closing of the acquisition of Nexity Property Management and becomes the leader of Property Management in France

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Press release

    Montrouge, 6 November 2024

    Crédit Agricole Immobilier announces the closing of the acquisition
    of Nexity Property Management
    and becomes the leader of Property Management in France

    Crédit Agricole Immobilier is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of Nexity Property Management, a Nexity subsidiary specialised in commercial and residential asset management. With this transaction, announced on 25 July 2024, Crédit Agricole Immobilier becomes the leader in institutional property management, in France 1.

    The acquisition of Nexity Property Management brings additional expertise to Crédit Agricole Immobilier, ranging from advisory services to accounting and technical rental management, supervision of works, shopping malls management etc.

    In addition, Nexity Property Management’s powerful network of over 30 branches and offices across France, comes as an addition to strengthens Crédit Agricole Immobilier’s own presence. It supports Crédit Agricole Immobilier in addressing the needs of its institutional customers, including the customers of the Regional Banks and subsidiaries of the Crédit Agricole Group. This increased local footprint, will allow CAI to bring their expertise to clients’ investment projects, in line with the Universal Customer-focused Banking Model approach.

    This new transaction, taking place 18 months after the acquisition of Sudeco, a long-standing Property Management player and commercial property specialist, has established Crédit Agricole Immobilier as the market leader with the most comprehensive range of services for institutional customers across all asset categories, from residential to commercial.
    Overall, Crédit Agricole Immobilier now manages more than 11,000 assets.

    For Nexity, this transaction is fully aligned with the group’s roadmap, specifically with the refocusing strategy launched in 2023.

    This transaction has no significant impact on Crédit Agricole S.A.’s CET1 ratio and should generate a return on investment that is in line with Crédit Agricole’s policy.

    “We are so delighted and proud to welcome the Nexity Property Management teams to Crédit Agricole Immobilier. This acquisition represents a decisive step forward in our strategy of becoming the leader of property management in France. We are deepening our expertise in all areas of property management and strengthening our presence across France. By joining forces, we are ready to take on new challenges. This is the perfect expression of our 2025 strategic plan, as well as the mid-term plan of Crédit Agricole Group: it will allow us to support our clients more extensively on strategic social and environmental issues, such as reducing the carbon footprint of their property assets.”

    Valérie Wanquet, Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Agricole Immobilier

    “I am delighted that we have completed this transaction with the Crédit Agricole Group, a long-term strategic partner of the Nexity group, which is fully in line with our efforts to refocus our activities, which we began at the end of 2023. I would like to thank all Nexity Property Management teams and I wish them every success with their new shareholder. We are certain that Crédit Agricole Immobilier will be able to maintain the quality of its services and enhance its market share.”

    Jean-Claude Bassien, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Nexity

    ABOUT CRÉDIT AGRICOLE IMMOBILIER
    A subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole Group, Crédit Agricole Immobilier supports its individual, corporate and public authority customers with real estate projects throughout France while upholding three fundamental principles: sustainability and performance of buildings, respect for the environment and decarbonisation, and social cohesion and inclusion.
    As a partner in the most ambitious property development projects, we work with our customers to create value throughout their projects: transaction, letting, rental management, co-ownership associations, property strategy, residential and commercial development, refurbishment, renovation, development of spaces, property management and operation.
    To find out more, visit: www.ca-immobilier.fr/nous-connaitre

    CRÉDIT AGRICOLE IMMOBILIER PRESS CONTACT
    Vanessa Feugères – +33 (0)7 86 84 19 15 – vanessa.feugeres@ca-immobilier.fr

    NEXITY, LIFE TOGETHER
    With revenues of €4.3 billion in 2023, Nexity, the leading global real estate operator, is present all over France and operates in all areas of development and services. Our strategy as leading global real estate operator allows us to meet all our clients’ needs, whether they are individuals, corporates, institutions or authorities. Our raison d’être ‘life together’ reflects our commitment to create sustainable spaces, neighbourhoods and towns for them, that help them to build and rebuild connections. For the sixth consecutive year, Nexity was ranked the top contracting authority by Association pour le développement du Bâtiment Bas Carbone (BBCA – a French low-carbon building association), is a member of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, Best Workplaces 2021 and was certified a Great Place to Work® in September 2022.
    Nexity is listed on Service de Règlement Différé (SRD – Deferred Settlement Service), in Compartment A of Euronext and on the SBF 120.

    NEXITY PRESS CONTACTS
    Cyril Rizk – Media Relations Manager / +33(0)6 73 49 72 61 – presse@nexity.fr
    Emma Durel – Media Relations Officer / +33 (0)6 99 14 09 28 – presse@nexity.fr
    Anne-Sophie Lanaute – Head of Investor Relations and Financial Communications / +33 (0)6 58 17 24 22 – investorrelations@nexity.fr


    1 In terms of revenues, source: Xerfi.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Aktia’s financial calendar and Annual General Meeting in 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Aktia Bank Plc
    Stock Exchange Release
    6 November 2024 at 7.50 a.m.

    Aktia’s financial calendar and Annual General Meeting in 2025

    Financial Statement Release 2024

    Aktia Bank Plc publishes its Financial Statement Release for 2024 on Wednesday 12 February 2025.

    Annual Report 2024

    Aktia Bank Plc’s Annual Report 2024 will be published on Thursday 13 March 2025.

    Annual General Meeting of Shareholders 2025

    Aktia Bank Plc’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders is planned to be held on Thursday 3 April 2025.

    Interim Reports 2025

    Interim Report January–March 2025: Wednesday 7 May 2025
    Half-year Report January–June 2025: Tuesday 5 August 2025
    Interim Report January–September 2025: Thursday 6 November 2025

    Aktia Bank Plc

    For more information:
    Oscar Taimitarha, Director, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 562 2315

    Distribution:
    Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd
    Mass media
    www.aktia.com

    Aktia is a Finnish asset manager, bank and life insurer that has been creating wealth and wellbeing from one generation to the next for 200 years. We serve our customers in digital channels everywhere and face-to-face in our offices in the Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Vaasa and Oulu regions. Our award-winning asset management business sells investment funds internationally. We employ approximately 850 people around Finland. Aktia’s assets under management (AuM) on 30 June 2024 amounted to EUR 14.1 billion, and the balance sheet total was EUR 12.4 billion. Aktia’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (AKTIA). aktia.com.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-Evening Report: The extreme floods which devastated Spain are hitting more often. Is Australia ready for the next one?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Conrad Wasko, ARC DECRA Fellow in Hydrology, University of Sydney

    Spain is still reeling from recent floods in the Valencia region. In some areas, a year’s worth of rain fell in a single day. Sudden torrents raced through towns and cities. Over 200 people are dead. Rapid analysis suggests daily rainfall extremes in this region and season have become twice as common over the last 75 years and become 12% more intense.

    The World Meteorological Organisation has pointed out that climate change is steadily increasing the risk of extreme floods like these. Warmer air can hold more water vapour, about 7% more per degree Celsius of warming. More moisture generally leads to more intense rainfall, and therefore more extreme floods.

    The physics of how temperature influences the atmosphere’s capacity to hold moisture has been known for close to 200 years. But we’ve learned something worrying more recently. When water vapour condenses to form rain droplets, it releases heat which can fuel stronger convection and boost updrafts of air currents in storms. This means the intensity of extreme rainfall could increase not just 7% per degree of warming, but over twice that rate.

    Last week, CSIRO and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology released their biennial report on the State of the Climate, which found “heavy short-term rainfall events are becoming more intense”. Australia, the report states, has already warmed 1.5°C since national records began in 1910. In recent years, extreme rains have triggered devastating floods in New South Wales and Queensland.

    The question now is – are we prepared for these more damaging floods? This year, Australia updated the climate change section of Australia’s flood design guidance. But while this will help ensure that future infrastructure is better able to weather extreme floods, our current bridges, roads and stormwater drains have not been built to weather these increases in extreme rainfall. Similarly, our flood planning levels – used to determine where houses, offices, hospitals and so forth can be built – have generally not factored in the reality of the threat.

    More floods and more extreme

    Many of us would have learned about the water cycle in school. Water evaporates from seas and lakes before falling as rain and filling lakes and rivers, which eventually makes it back to the sea.

    Unfortunately, climate change is making this cycle more intense, as detailed in a recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. Rain is more likely to fall in intense short-duration bursts which are more likely to trigger floods.

    This year alone, we have seen disastrous and deadly floods from extreme storms across the Americas, Asia and Europe. Scientific analysis has showed these floods were more severe due to human-caused climate change.

    Australia is not immune. The devastating northern New South Wales floods of 2022 took 24 lives and ravaged towns such as Lismore. These floods are the most expensive natural disaster to date in Australia, costing A$5.65 billion in damages.

    How do you prepare for worse floods?

    When urban planners set flood planning levels, or engineers begin designing a new bridge or rail line, they have to take floods into account. To do so, they will inevitably reach for the local bible, Australia’s flood design guidance.

    Before 2024, this document allowed for a 5% increase in rainfall intensity per degree of global warming, and generally applied it only to infrastructure intended for a very long lifespan. This clashed with most scientific studies on the topic both globally and in Australia, which showed much greater increases, and that these increases are already being witnessed.

    To provide better flood guidance, we and our colleagues undertook a comprehensive review of over 300 scientific papers covering climate change in Australia and extreme rainfall.

    The review proved we had been underestimating the threat of extreme rains and subsequent floods. Rain events over a 24-hour period leading to flooding are likely to increase at 8% per degree of warming, not 5%. Hourly rainfall extremes are likely increasing even faster, at 15% per degree.

    Worse, these are just the central estimates. The wide range of plausible values suggests some rain events could eclipse these. For daily or longer extreme rains, the range is 2–15%. For hourly or shorter periods, that figure is 7–28% for hourly or shorter duration.

    Over the month of February in 2022, the Lismore region had about 600–800 mm of rain – much more than a normal February, which might see closer to 150 mm on average. These floods took place with just 1.1°C of warming since the pre-industrial period. On our current path, it’s possible the world could warm another 1.5°C or more by the end of this century. If this happens, these rainfall totals could be substantially higher and more likely to cause even worse flood impacts.

    These new figures have now been included in the August update of Australia’s flood design guidance. This is good news. It means future decisions on infrastructure and planning can now be well informed by the latest science on how climate change influences flood risk.

    Over time, this will ensure essential infrastructure can be built to endure worse floods. It will affect the design and construction of everything from local stormwater drains to levees, bridges, culverts and dam spillways.

    Preparing for extreme floods is complex. Pictured: water spilling out from a manhole during Spain’s floods.
    Fernando Astasio Avila/Shutterstock

    Local councils can use it to set the height of floor levels for property development. State and federal decision-makers can use it in planning for responses to flood emergencies.

    Does it mean we can avoid disastrous floods like those in Spain and Lismore? Yes and no. We now have the knowledge and tools to adapt to the increased risk levels already arriving. Yet implementing this will be challenging. In many cases, it will require retrofitting or redesigning existing infrastructure to withstand more intense flooding.

    Climate change is no longer something we can file under “problem for the future”. It’s here already. The flood risks we face today are already substantially worse than 25 years ago, and will continue to worsen. We must accelerate how we plan for extreme, rapid rainfall creating catastrophic floods like those in Spain.

    Conrad Wasko receives funding from The University of Sydney and the Australian Research Council. Conrad has previously received funding from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

    Andrew Dowdy receives funding from University of Melbourne, including through the Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes and the Melbourne Energy Institute.

    Seth Westra is a Professor of Hydrology and Climate Risk at the University of Adelaide, Director of Research for the One Basin Cooperative Research Centre, and Chair of the Systems Cooperative. Seth receives funding from state and federal governments support decision making under hydrological or climatic uncertainty.

    ref. The extreme floods which devastated Spain are hitting more often. Is Australia ready for the next one? – https://theconversation.com/the-extreme-floods-which-devastated-spain-are-hitting-more-often-is-australia-ready-for-the-next-one-242686

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI: Aktia Bank Plc’s Interim Report January–September 2024: Stable quarterly result and positive trend in asset management

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Aktia Bank Plc
    Stock Exchange Release
    6 November 2024 at 8.00 a.m.

    Aktia Bank Plc’s Interim Report January–September 2024: Stable quarterly result and positive trend in asset management

    The quarter in short

    • Comparable operating profit: EUR 31.5 million, somewhat higher than last year (31.0).
    • Comparable cost/income ratio: 0.56 (0.55).
    • Comparable return on equity (ROE): 15.0 (15.8)%; the difference is mainly due to a higher average equity.
    • Net commission income: 3% higher than last year thanks to higher net income from funds and card operations.
    • Assets under management: Increased in the quarter, driven by positive net subscriptions and favourable market development.
    • Net interest income: 7% lower than last year due to the impact of non-standard interest terms for certain corporate accounts and falling interest rates.
    • Net income from life insurance: Strong development due to good sales, low loss ratio and good investment performance.
    • Comparable operating expenses: Good cost control despite continued investments in IT.
    • Credit losses: Provisions decreased compared to last year.
    • The share of assets under management classified as sustainable under Article 8/9 increased to 98.1% from 95.3% last year.

    Outlook 2024 (unchanged)

    Aktia’s comparable operating profit for 2024 is expected to be higher than the EUR 104.8 million reported for 2023.

    The outlook has been prepared based on the following expectations:

    • Despite market uncertainty and a probable decline in interest rates, the net interest income is expected to be higher than in 2023.
    • Net commission income is expected to be somewhat higher than in 2023, provided that the market conditions are favourable.
    • The life insurance business is expected to develop steadily. However, the result may be affected by changes in market values.
    • Total operating expenses are expected to remain on approximately the same level as in 2023, given the absence of stability contribution offset by higher expected IT expenses.
    • Impairments and provisions for credit losses are expected to increase slightly compared to the 2023 level, given the current market situation.

    Aleksi Lehtonen, CEO:

    I have said in various contexts that only a company with thriving employees can have genuinely satisfied customers. During the year, we have seen the results of Aktia’s employee surveys moving in the right direction. Therefore, it is not surprising – but all the more pleasing – that we have also seen a significant improvement in customer satisfaction.

    The very comprehensive EPSI Rating study, published in the third quarter, shows how our customer satisfaction develops and where we stand compared to the sector. Aktia has improved significantly in all the sub-areas covered by the EPSI study, and our overall result is now very close to the “very satisfied” threshold. This year, Aktia was the bank improving the most in the ranking. The study shows that our customers to a large extent are also likely to recommend Aktia.

    I am happy and grateful for this feedback and especially for the fact that our customers explicitly feel appreciated and cared for. This is in line with the direct feedback I have received when attending customer meetings: Aktia’s customers appreciate personal service and there exists a strong trust. My message regarding both employee and customer satisfaction is the same: we are moving in the right direction, but there is still work to be done. We can become even better, and we need to prove ourselves worthy of our customers’ confidence every day.

    As an asset manager, customer confidence is of the utmost importance to us in our aim to be the best partner for those who want to increase their wealth over time. We fulfil our purpose, to create wealth, by thinking further with our customers and always making sure that our customers have a good wealth plan. Managing and increasing wealth in a well-planned way is to act responsibly, not only for ourselves, but also for those close to us. It should also be noted that a large part of the wealth in Finland will be transferred to the next generation within a decade, which requires a great deal of planning.

    Continued stable performance

    The financial result remained stable in the third quarter. The comparable operating profit of EUR 31.5 million was well in line with the two previous quarters of 2024 and was 2% higher than in the third quarter of 2023, which was the best quarter last year performance-wise. Our comparable return on equity (ROE) was 15% and the comparable cost-to-income ratio was 0.56 – both again at a better level than our long-term objectives of ROE of at least 12% and cost-to-income ratio below 0.60.

    The good result was driven by higher net commission income, strong net income from life insurance and continued cost control. On the other hand, the net interest income for the quarter was still partly burdened by the non-standard corporate interest rates announced in July. We revised the accounts in the third quarter, and the terms for corporate accounts are now up to date.

    Positive net subscriptions and improvement in the housing market

    The positive development in asset management continued. I am very pleased that customer assets under management continued to increase and especially that net subscriptions were positive during the quarter. Overall, the inflow into Aktia’s own funds has been strong this year and in September, Aktia Fund Management Company was among the best in Finland measured in net subscriptions. The fact that a significant proportion of investments are made in insurance wrappers shows that capitalisation redemption contracts and unit-linked insurance play an important role in our customers’ investment solutions. There is a clear confidence in Aktia’s investment solutions, and the best recognition we can get is when customers trust us to manage their wealth.

    There are also encouraging signs in the housing market, and we have noted a growing trend in the number of loan applications, which started to pick up in the summer. In the third quarter, we already saw growth in the loan book among Premium and Private banking customers, although the total loan book decreased slightly as a result of amortisations.

    Value creation through updated strategy

    As I have mentioned earlier, we are currently reviewing the Group’s overall strategy and long-term financial objectives. Our current strategy period extends to 2025, and now is the time to reflect and choose our priorities for the coming years. The work is progressing well and we look forward to being able to tell about our strategic priorities in more detail. However, the purpose of our activities remains the same: to create prosperity – for our customers, employees, owners, and society as a whole.

    Key Figures

    (EUR million)  Q3/2024 Q3/2023 ∆ % 1–9/2024 1–9/2023 ∆ % Q2/2024 ∆ % 1–12/2023
    Net interest income  36.1 38.6 -7% 114.0 102.3 11 % 38.8 -7% 140.4
    Net commission income  30.9 30.0 3% 91.8 90.6 1 % 30.8 0% 120.4
    Net income from life insurance  8.9 5.1 74% 23.9 18.0 33 % 7.4 21% 24.1
    Total operating income  76.1 74.3 2% 230.1 212.9 8 % 76.7 -1% 287.4
    Operating expenses  -43.1 -40.8 6% -129.3 -130.1 -1 % -44.8 -4% -176.6
    Impairment of credits and other commitments  -1.8 -2.3 -23% -6.3 -4.5 39% -1.8 -3% -7.0
    Operating profit  31.2 31.0 1% 94.6 78.1 21% 30.1 4% 102.6
    Comparable operating income1  76.1 74.3 2% 230.1 212.7 8 % 76.7 -1% 287.2
    Comparable operating expenses1  -42.8 -40.8 5% -127.7 -128.7 -1% -44.1 -3% -174.2
    Comparable operating profit1  31.5 31.0 2% 96.2 79.2 21% 30.8 2% 104.8
    Cost-to-income ratio  0.57 0.55 3% 0.56 0.61 -8% 0.58 -3% 0.61
    Comparable cost-to-income ratio1  0.56 0.55 3% 0.55 0.61 -8% 0.57 -2% 0.61
    Earnings per share (EPS), EUR  0.34 0.33 3% 1.05 0.85 23% 0.33 3% 1.12
    Comparable earnings per share (EPS), EUR, euro1  0.34 0.33 4% 1.06 0.86 23% 0.34 1% 1.15
    Return on equity (ROE), %  14.9 15.8 -0,9* 15.3 13.7 1,6* 14.5 0,3* 13.3
    Comparable return on equity (ROE), %1 15.0 15.8 -0,8* 15.6 13.9 1,7* 14.9 0,1* 13.6
    Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio (CET1), %2  11.9 11.0 0,9* 11.9 11.0 0,9* 11.5 0,4* 11.3

    1) Alternative performance measures
    2) At the end of the period
    * The change is calculated in percentage points

    Briefing for analysts, investors and media

    Aktia’s results briefing for analysts, investors and media will be held in English on Wednesday 6 November 2024 at 10.30 a.m. Aktia’s CEO Aleksi Lehtonen and interim CFO Karri Varis will present the results.

    The briefing can be viewed live as a webcast or as a recording after the event at https://aktia.videosync.fi/aktia-pankki-oyj-q3-report-2024. Questions can be submitted in writing during the live webcast.

    AKTIA BANK PLC

    For more information:
    Oscar Taimitarha, Director, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 562 2315

    Distribution:
    Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd
    Mass media
    www.aktia.com

    Aktia is a Finnish asset manager, bank and life insurer that has been creating wealth and wellbeing from one generation to the next for 200 years. We serve our customers in digital channels everywhere and face-to-face in our offices in the Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Vaasa and Oulu regions. Our award-winning asset management business sells investment funds internationally. We employ approximately 850 people around Finland. Aktia’s assets under management (AuM) on 30 September 2024 amounted to EUR 14.3 billion, and the balance sheet total was EUR 12.0 billion. Aktia’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (AKTIA). aktia.com.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Credit Agricole Sa: Third quarter and first nine months 2024 results – VERY STRONG QUARTER, 2024 INCOME TARGET CONFIRMED

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VERY STRONG QUARTER, 2024 INCOME TARGET CONFIRMED
    CASA AND CAG STATED AND UNDERLYING DATA Q3-2024
               
      CRÉDIT AGRICOLE S.A.   CRÉDIT AGRICOLE GROUP
        Stated   Underlying     Stated   Underlying
    Revenues   €6,487m
    +2.3% Q3/Q3
      €6,484m
    +7.0% Q3/Q3
        €9,213m
    -0.4% Q3/Q3
      €9,210m
    +4.1% Q3/Q3
    Expenses   -€3,689m
    +9.2% Q3/Q3
      -€3,654m
    +8.2% Q3/Q3
        -€5,590m
    +6.2% Q3/Q3
      -€5,556m
    +5.5% Q3/Q3
    Gross Operating Income   €2,799m
    -5.7% Q3/Q3
      €2,830m
    +5.5% Q3/Q3
        €3,623m
    -9.1% Q3/Q3
      €3,654m
    +2.0% Q3/Q3
    Cost of risk   -€433m
    +0.9% Q3/Q3
      -€433m
    +0.9% Q3/Q3
        -€801m
    +15.6% Q3/Q3
      -€801m
    +15.6% Q3/Q3
    Net income group share   €1,666m
    -4.7% Q3/Q3
      €1,686m
    +10.9% Q3/Q3
                €2,080m

    -12.8% Q3/Q3

      €2,100m
    +1.5% Q3/Q3
    C/I ratio   56.9%
    +3.6 pp Q3/Q3
      56.4%
    +0.6 pp Q3/Q3
        60.7%
    +3.7 pp Q3/Q3
      60.3%
    +0.8 pp Q3/Q3
    RESULTS UP FOR THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF THE YEAR; TARGET CONFIRMED OF >€6BN IN NET INCOME GROUP SHARE FOR 2024

    STRONG QUARTERLY RESULT

    • +8.2% growth in net income Group share excluding base effect related to reversals of Home Purchase Savings Plan provisions in Q3-23
    • High level of revenues, sharply up in underlying vision
    • Low cost/income ratio; support for business line development with a +4.1% increase in recurring expenses

    STRONG ACTIVITY IN ALL BUSINESS LINES

    • Solid performance in retail banking and consumer finance, supported by a good level of customer capture, higher on-balance sheet deposits in France and stable on-balance sheet deposits in Italy, gradual recovery in home loan activity and increased corporate loan production in France, continued momentum in international loan activity, and consumer finance activity stable at a high level
      • Excellent business momentum in CIB, asset management and insurance, reflected in high gross inflows in life insurance, continued brisk business in property and casualty and personal insurance, solid level of inflows and a record level of assets under management, CIB business still robust and record nine-month revenues

    CONTINUED STRATEGIC PROJECTS

    • Partnership with GAC in China on leasing and in Europe on automotive financing
    • Signing of an agreement to acquire Merca Leasing
    • Acquisition of Nexity Property Management

    VERY SOLID CAPITAL AND LIQUIDITY POSITIONS

    • Crédit Agricole S.A. phased-in CET1 11.7%
    • CA Group phased-in CET1 17.4%
     

    Dominique Lefebvre,
    Chairman of SAS Rue La Boétie and Chairman of the Crédit Agricole S.A. Board of Directors

    The Group reports solid results this quarter. These results reinforce its desire to be useful to all its customers and to play a leading role in actively supporting the economy.”  

     
     

    Philippe Brassac,
    Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Agricole S.A.

    Quarter after quarter, the Group publishes high-level results confirming the outlook for a 2024 result that is one year ahead of Crédit Agricole S.A.’s Ambitions for 2025.”

     

    This press release comments on the results of Crédit Agricole S.A. and those of Crédit Agricole Group, which comprises the Crédit Agricole S.A. entities and the Crédit Agricole Regional Banks, which own 62.4% of Crédit Agricole S.A. Please see the appendices to this press release for details of specific items, which are restated in the various indicators to calculate underlying income.

    Crédit Agricole Group

    Group activity

    The Group’s commercial activity during the quarter continued at a steady pace across all business lines, with a good level of customer capture. During the third quarter of 2024, the Group recorded +482,000 new customers in retail banking, and the customer base grew by +104,000 customers. More specifically, over the quarter, the Group recorded +383,000 new customers for Retail Banking in France and +99,000 new International Retail Banking customers (Italy and Poland), and the customer base also grew (+64,000 and +40,000 customers, respectively).

    At 30 September 2024, retail banking on-balance sheet deposits totalled €830 billion, up +2.8% year-on-year in France and Italy (+3.1% for Regional Banks and LCL and -0.4% in Italy). Outstanding loans totalled €876 billion, up +0.4% year-on-year in France and Italy (+0.2% for Regional Banks and LCL and +3.0% in Italy). Home loan production picked up gradually in France during this quarter, recording an increase of +20% for the Regional Banks and +73% for LCL compared to the second quarter of 2024, and -11% and +17% respectively compared to the third quarter of 2023. In Italy, home loan production was down -12% for CA Italy due to a base effect related to successful marketing campaigns in the third quarter of 2023. However, they were still up on second quarter 2024. The property and casualty insurance equipment rate1 rose to 43.8% for the Regional Banks (+0.7 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2023), 27.9% for LCL (+0.3 percentage point) and 20.0% for CA Italy (+1.7 percentage point).

    In asset management, inflows remained healthy (+€14.4 billion excluding an insurance mandate withdrawal totalling -€11.6 billion), particularly with regard to medium/long-term assets excluding JVs (+€9 billion). Commercial momentum within JVs was also solid. In savings/retirement, Crédit Agricole Assurances posted a high level of gross inflows (€7.2 billion, up +56% year-on-year), the unit-linked rate remained high in production (32.8%), and net inflows were positive (+€1.6 billion) and growing. In property and casualty insurance, the portfolio grew by +5.1% year-on-year to 16.6 million policies. Assets under management were once again at their highest level ever, rising compared to the end of September 2023 in asset management (€2,192 billion, or +11.1%), life insurance (€343.2 billion, or +5.8%) and wealth management, which benefited from the integration of Degroof Petercam (IWM and Private Banking of LCL €274 billion, or +46.9%).

    SFS business line registered an activity stable at a high level, with an increase in consumer finance outstandings at CAPFM (+5.2% compared to the end of September 2023), driven by automotive activities, which account for 53%2 of total outstandings, and growth in production and leasing outstandings at CAL&F (€20.1 billion, or +8.8% compared to the end of September 2023).

    Momentum is strong in Large Customers, with record revenues in corporate and investment banking (best nine-month cumulative total), with capital markets and investment banking being driven by capital market activities, and financing activities benefiting from growth in commercial banking. CACEIS also posted a high level of assets under custody (€5,061 billion, +12.1% compared to the end of September 2023) and assets under administration (€3,386 billion, +4.2% compared to the end of September 2023). It benefited during the quarter from strong commercial momentum and positive market effects.

    Each of the Group’s business lines posted strong activity (see Infra).

    Continued support of transition

    Crédit Agricole Assurances has set out its new climate commitments, announcing its target to reduce carbon intensity of its portfolio3 by -50% by 2029 (compared to 2019).

    Crédit Agricole Group has also decided to participate in CDC’s energy and ecological transition financing support scheme. The Group will thus be able to raise up to €5.3 billion in liquidity by November 2025, exclusively for financing new projects contributing to the energy and ecological transition.

    The Group is continuing the mass roll-out of financing and investment to promote the transition. As such, the Crédit Agricole Group doubled its exposure to low-carbon energy financing4 between the end of 2020 and September 2024, with €21.9 billion at 30 September 2024. In addition, Crédit Agricole Assurances’s financing of renewable energy production capacity increased by +17% compared to the end of 2022, representing 13.8 gigawatts at 30 June 2024.

    Lastly, Crédit Agricole CIB’s green loan portfolio5 grew by +67% between the end of 2022 and September 2024, and represented €20.7 billion at 30 September 2024.

    Group results

    In the third quarter of 2024, the Crédit Agricole Group’s stated net income Group share came to €2,080 million, down -12.8% compared to the third quarter of 2023. This was due to significant specific items in the third quarter of 2023.

    Specific items in the third quarter of 2024 had a negative net impact of -€20 million on the net income Group share of the Crédit Agricole Group. These items comprise the following recurring accounting items: recurring accounting volatility items, namely the DVA (Debt Valuation Adjustment), the issuer spread portion of the FVA, and secured lending for +€3 million in net income Group share from capital markets and investment banking, and the hedging of the loan book in Large Customers for -€1 million in net income Group share. In addition to these recurring items, there were other items specific to this quarter: ISB integration costs of -€14 million in net income Group share of Large Customers, the Degroof Petercam integration costs of -€6 million in net income Group share of Asset Gathering, and the acquisition costs of Degroof Petercam totalling -€2 million in net income Group share of private banking.

    Specific items in the third quarter of 2023 had a cumulative positive impact of +€317 million in net income Group share and comprised DVA and hedging items for +€1 million under Large Customers, reversals of the Home Purchase Savings Plan provisions for +€297 million (+€38 million for LCL, +€171 million for the Corporate Centre and +€88 million for the Regional Banks), and the impact of the SFS division’s Mobility6 business for -€26 million under the equity method and +€45 million under gains and losses on other assets.

    Excluding these specific items, Crédit Agricole Group’s underlying net income Group share7 amounted to €2,100 million, up +1.5% compared to third quarter 2023.

    Crédit Agricole Group – Stated and underlying results, Q3-24 and Q3-23

    €m Q3-24
    stated
    Specific items Q3-24
    underlying
    Q3-23
    stated
    Specific items Q3-23
    underlying
    ∆ Q3/Q3
    stated
    ∆ Q3/Q3
    underlying
                     
    Revenues 9,213 3 9,210 9,249 402 8,847 (0.4%) +4.1%
    Operating expenses excl.SRF (5,590) (34) (5,556) (5,265) 0 (5,265) +6.2% +5.5%
    SRF n.m. n.m.
    Gross operating income 3,623 (31) 3,654 3,984 402 3,582 (9.1%) +2.0%
    Cost of risk (801) 0 (801) (693) 0 (693) +15.6% +15.6%
    Equity-accounted entities 61 61 37 (26) 63 +65.7% (3.5%)
    Net income on other assets (5) (3) (2) 69 61 9 n.m. n.m.
    Change in value of goodwill n.m. n.m.
    Income before tax 2,877 (34) 2,912 3,397 436 2,961 (15.3%) (1.6%)
    Tax (587) 8 (595) (810) (120) (691) (27.6%) (13.8%)
    Net income from discont’d or held-for-sale ope. 2 2 (100.0%) (100.0%)
    Net income 2,291 (26) 2,317 2,588 317 2,272 (11.5%) +2.0%
    Non controlling interests (211) 6 (217) (204) (204) +3.4% +6.5%
    Net income Group Share 2,080 (20) 2,100 2,384 317 2,068 (12.8%) +1.5%
    Cost/Income ratio excl.SRF (%) 60.7%   60.3% 56.9%   59.5% +3.7 pp +0.8 pp

    In the third quarter of 2024, underlying revenues amounted to €9,210 million, up +4.1% compared to the third quarter of 2023, driven by favourable results from most of the business lines. Underlying revenues were up in French Retail Banking (+1.8%), while the Asset Gathering division benefited from good business momentum and the integration of Degroof Petercam, and the Large Customers division enjoyed a high level of revenues across all of its business lines, in addition to the integration of ISB. Meanwhile, revenues were down slightly for International Retail Banking and Specialised Financial Services, which were penalised by the drop in interest rates. Underlying operating expenses increased by +5.5% in the third quarter of 2024 to €5,556 million. This was due to scope effects, base effects on taxes and support for business line development. Overall, the Group saw its underlying cost/income ratio reach 60.3% in the third quarter of 2024, a moderate rise of +0.8 percentage point. As a result, the underlying gross operating income stood at €3,654 million, up +2.0% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

    The underlying cost of credit risk stood at -€801 million, a year-on-year increase of +15.6%. This figure comprises an addition of -€93 million for prudential provisions on performing loans (stages 1 and 2), an addition of -€709 million for the cost of proven risk (stage 3), the consequence of an increase in defaults in the corporate market, and additional provisioning for a number of corporate-specific files. There was also a reversal of +€1 million on other risks. The provisioning levels were determined by taking into account several weighted economic scenarios and by applying some flat-rate adjustments on sensitive portfolios. The weighted economic scenarios for the third quarter were unchanged from the second quarter, with a favourable scenario (French GDP at +1.2% in 2024, +1.5% in 2025) and an unfavourable scenario (French GDP at -0.2% in 2024 and +0.5% in 2025). The cost of risk/outstandings8reached 26 basis points over a four rolling quarter period and 27 basis points on an annualised quarterly basis9.

    Underlying pre-tax income stood at €2,912 million, a year-on-year decrease of -1.6%. This includes the contribution from equity-accounted entities of €61 million (down -3.5%) and net income on other assets, which came to -€2 million this quarter. The underlying tax charge fell by -13.8% over the period, the tax rate this quarter falling by -3.0 percentage points to 20.9%. Underlying net income before non-controlling interests was up +2.0% to €2,317 million. Non-controlling interests rose +6.5%. Lastly, underlying net income Group share was €2,100 million, +1.5% higher than in the third quarter of 2023.

    Crédit Agricole Group – Stated and underlying results 9M-24 and 9M-23

    €m 9M-24
    stated
    Specific items 9M-24
    underlying
    9M-23
    stated
    Specific items 9M-23
    underlying
    ∆ 9M/9M
    stated
    ∆ 9M/9M
    underlying
                     
    Revenues 28,244 117 28,127 27,722 758 26,965 +1.9% +4.3%
    Operating expenses excl.SRF (16,866) (84) (16,782) (15,782) (18) (15,764) +6.9% +6.5%
    SRF (620) (620) (100.0%) (100.0%)
    Gross operating income 11,378 33 11,345 11,321 739 10,581 +0.5% +7.2%
    Cost of risk (2,324) (20) (2,304) (2,179) (84) (2,095) +6.6% +10.0%
    Equity-accounted entities 203 (0) 203 190 (39) 229 +6.7% (11.2%)
    Net income on other assets (19) (23) 4 107 89 18 n.m. (78.5%)
    Change in value of goodwill n.m. n.m.
    Income before tax 9,238 (10) 9,248 9,438 705 8,733 (2.1%) +5.9%
    Tax (2,104) (4) (2,100) (2,293) (180) (2,113) (8.2%) (0.6%)
    Net income from discont’d or held-for-sale ope. 7 7 (100.0%) (100.0%)
    Net income 7,134 (14) 7,148 7,153 525 6,628 (0.3%) +7.9%
    Non controlling interests (643) 17 (659) (619) (0) (619) +3.8% +6.5%
    Net income Group Share 6,491 3 6,489 6,534 525 6,009 (0.6%) +8.0%
    Cost/Income ratio excl.SRF (%) 59.7%   59.7% 56.9%   58.5% +2.8 pp +1.2 pp

    In the first nine months of 2024, stated net income Group share amounted to €6,491 million, compared with €6,534 million in the first nine months of 2023, a difference of just -0.6%.

    Specific items for the first nine months of 2024 include the specific items of the Regional Banks for the first nine months of 2024 (+€47 million in reversals of Home Purchase Savings Plan provisions) and Crédit Agricole S.A. specific items, which are detailed in the Crédit Agricole S.A. section.

    Excluding specific items, underlying net income Group share reached €6,489 million, up +8.0% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    Underlying revenues totalled €28,127 million, up +4.3% compared to the first nine months of 2023. This increase is attributable to growth in all business lines, reaching a total, excluding the Corporate Centre division, of +4.6% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    Underlying operating expenses amounted to -€16,782 million, up +6.5% excluding SRF compared to the first nine months of 2023, mainly due to higher compensation in an inflationary environment, support for business development, IT expenditure and scope effects as detailed for each division. The underlying cost/income ratio for the first nine months of 2024 was 59.7%, up +1.2 percentage points compared to the first nine months of 2023 excluding SRF. The SRF stood at -€620 million in 2023.

    Underlying gross operating income totalled €11,345 million, up +7.2% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    The underlying cost of risk for the first nine months of 2024 rose to -€2,304 million (of which -€178 million in cost of risk on performing loans (stages 1 and 2), -€2,148 million in cost of proven risk, and +€22 million in other risks corresponding mainly to reversals of legal provisions), i.e. an increase of +10.0% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    As at 30 September 2024, risk indicators confirm the high quality of Crédit Agricole Group’s assets and risk coverage level. The diversified loan book is mainly geared towards home loans (45% of gross outstandings) and corporates (33% of gross outstandings). Loan loss reserves amounted to €21.3 billion at the end of September 2024 (€11.7 billion for Regional Banks), 41% of which represented provisioning of performing loans (47% for Regional Banks). The prudent management of these loan loss reserves meant that the Crédit Agricole Group’s overall coverage ratio for doubtful loans at the end of September 2024 was 82.8%.

    Underlying net income on other assets stood at €4 million in the first nine months of 2024, versus €18 million in the first nine months of 2023. Underlying pre-tax income before discontinued operations and non-controlling interests rose by +5.9% to €9,248 million. The tax charge was -€2,100 million, a change of just -0.6%, with an underlying effective tax rate of 23.2%, down -1.6 percentage points compared to the first nine months of 2023. Underlying net income before non-controlling interests was therefore up by +7.9%. Non-controlling interests amounted to -€659 million in the first nine months of 2023, up +6.5%.

    Underlying net income Group share for first nine months of 2024 thus stood at €6,489 million, up +8.0% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    Regional banks

    Gross customer capture stands at +275,000 new customers and the customer base grew by +27,000 new customers over the same period. The percentage of customers using demand deposits as their main account and those who use digital tools continued to increase.

    Loan production was down -7% compared to the third quarter of 2023, reflecting the -11% drop in home loans and the decline in specialised markets. Home loan production has been gradually recovering since the beginning of the year (+20% compared to the second quarter 2024). The average lending production rate for home loans stood at 3.47%10 over July and August 2024, -16 basis points lower than in the second quarter of 2024. By contrast, the global loan stock rate showed a gradual improvement (+27 basis points compared to the third quarter of 2023). Outstanding loans totalled €646 billion at the end of September 2024, stable year-on-year across all markets but up slightly by +0.5% over the quarter.

    Customer assets were up +3.6% year-on-year to reach €903 billion at the end of September 2024. This growth was driven both by on-balance sheet deposits, which reached €601 billion (+2.5% compared to end September year-on-year), and off-balance sheet deposits, which reached €302 billion (+5.9% year-on-year) benefiting from favourable market effects and strong inflows in unit-linked bonds (€8 billion cumulative year-on-year). The mix of on-balance sheet deposits for the quarter remained almost unchanged, with demand deposits and term deposits fluctuating by -0.6% and +1% respectively from end-June 2024.

    The equipment rate for property and casualty insurance11 was 43.8% at the end of September 2024 and continues to rise (up +0.7 percentage point compared to the end of September 2023). In terms of payment instruments, the number of cards rose by +1.7% year-on-year, as did the percentage of premium cards in the stock, which increased by 1.9 percentage points year-on-year to account for 16.0% of total cards.

    In the third quarter of 2024, the Regional Banks’ consolidated revenues including the SAS Rue La Boétie dividend12 stood at €3,220 million, down -2.1% compared to the third quarter of 2023, notably impacted by a base effect of +€118 million13 related to the reversal of the Home Purchase Savings Plan provision in the third quarter of 2023. Excluding this item, revenues were up +1.5% year-on-year, the decline in the net interest margin (-11.6% excluding the Home Purchase Savings Plan13 base effect) being offset by the rise in portfolio revenues (+41.8%) and fee and commission income (+4.9%), itself driven by buoyant business in life insurance and account management. Operating expenses were up +3.5%, due to an increase in staff costs, property expenses and IT costs. Gross operating income was down -15.3% year-on-year (-3.8% excluding the Home Purchase Savings Plan13 base effect). The cost of risk was up by +43.7% compared to the third quarter of 2023 to stand at -€369 million. mainly due to the increase in proven risk in the corporate sector. Cost of risk/outstandings remained under control, at 22 basis points.

    The Regional Banks’ consolidated net income, including the SAS Rue La Boétie dividend,12 amounted to €351 million, down -38.0% compared to the third quarter of 2023 (-26.5% excluding the base effect13).

    The Regional Banks’ contribution to net income Group share was €371 million in the third quarter of 2024, down -36.9% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

    In the first nine months of 2024, revenues including the SAS Rue La Boétie dividend were up +2.2% compared to the same period in 2023. Operating expenses rose by +1.7%, resulting in a rise in gross operating income of +3% for the first nine months of 2024. Finally, with a cost of risk up +29%, the Regional Banks’ net income Group share, including the SAS Rue La Boétie dividend, amounted to €3,051 million, up +0.5% compared to the first nine months of 2023 (+1.9% excluding the Home Purchase Savings Plan base effect).

    The Regional Banks’ contribution to the results of Crédit Agricole Group in the first nine months of 2024 amounted to €1,021 million in stated net income Group share (-28.1% compared to the same period in 2023), with revenues of €9,834 million (-2%), expenses of -€7,453 (+3.3%) and a cost of risk of -€1,056 million (+27%).

    Crédit Agricole S.A.

    Results

    Crédit Agricole S.A.’s Board of Directors, chaired by Dominique Lefebvre, met on 5 November 2024 to examine the financial statements for third quarter 2024.

    Crédit Agricole S.A. – Stated and underlying results, Q3-24 and Q3-23

    €m Q3-24
    stated
    Specific items Q3-24
    underlying
    Q3-23
    stated
    Specific items Q3-23
    underlying
    ∆ Q3/Q3
    stated
    ∆ Q3/Q3
    underlying
                     
    Revenues 6,487 3 6,484 6,343 284 6,060 +2.3% +7.0%
    Operating expenses excl.SRF (3,689) (34) (3,654) (3,376) 0 (3,376) +9.2% +8.2%
    SRF n.m. n.m.
    Gross operating income 2,799 (31) 2,830 2,967 284 2,684 (5.7%) +5.5%
    Cost of risk (433) 0 (433) (429) 0 (429) +0.9% +0.9%
    Equity-accounted entities 42 42 23 (26) 50 +81.3% (15.3%)
    Net income on other assets (4) (3) (1) 69 61 8 n.m. n.m.
    Change in value of goodwill n.m. n.m.
    Income before tax 2,404 (34) 2,438 2,630 318 2,312 (8.6%) +5.4%
    Tax (476) 8 (484) (633) (89) (544) (24.8%) (11.0%)
    Net income from discont’d or held-for-sale ope. 2 2 n.m. n.m.
    Net income 1,928 (26) 1,954 1,999 229 1,770 (3.5%) +10.4%
    Non controlling interests (262) 6 (268) (251) (2) (250) +4.2% +7.5%
    Net income Group Share 1,666 (20) 1,686 1,748 227 1,520 (4.7%) +10.9%
    Earnings per share (€) 0.50 (0.01) 0.51 0.53 0.07 0.46 (5.5%) +11.4%
    Cost/Income ratio excl. SRF (%) 56.9%   56.4% 53.2%   55.7% +3.6 pp +0.6 pp

    In the third quarter of 2024, Crédit Agricole S.A.’s stated net income Group share came to €1,666 million, down -4.7% compared to the third quarter of 2023, having benefited from non-recurring items related to reversals of the Home Purchase Savings Plan provisions (see below). This was an excellent result for the third quarter of 2024, based on high revenues and a cost/income ratio kept at a low level.

    Specific items for this quarter had a cumulative impact of -€20 million on net income Group share, and included the following recurring accounting items: recurring accounting volatility items in revenues, such as the DVA (Debt Valuation Adjustment), the issuer spread portion of the FVA and secured lending for +€3 million in net income Group share in the Large Customers segment, and the hedging of the loan book in the Large Customers segment for -€1 million in net income Group share. In addition to these recurring items, there were a number of items specific to this quarter: Degroof Petercam integration costs of -€6 million in the net income Group share in Asset Gathering; ISB integration costs for -€14 million in the net income Group share in Large Customers, and the acquisition costs of Degroof Petercam for -€2 million in the net income Group share in Asset Gathering.

    Specific items for the third quarter of 2023 had a cumulative impact of +€227 million on net income Group share, and comprised recurring accounting items amounting to +€208 million (primarily reversals of Home Purchase Savings Plan provisions for +€37 million at LCL and +€171 million at the Corporate Centre). Non-recurring items were related to the ongoing reorganisation of the SFS division’s Mobility business amounting to +€19 million.

    Excluding a positive base effect related to the reversals of Home Purchase Savings Plan provisions, net income Group share was up +8.2% for the period.

    Excluding specific items, underlying net income Group share14 stood at €1,686 million in the third quarter of 2024, up +10.9% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

    In the third quarter of 2024, underlying revenues were at a high level, standing at €6,484 million. They were up sharply by +7.0% compared to the third quarter of 2023. This growth was driven by the Asset Gathering business line, which recorded growth of +12.9% as a result of strong business momentum and the integration of Degroof Petercam15; the Large Customers business line (+8.7%), which saw good results from all business lines with continued revenue growth in the third quarter in Corporate and Investment Banking, in addition to an improvement in the net interest margin and fee and commission income within CACEIS; Specialised Financial Services (-1.5%), which benefited from favourable scope and volume effects as well as a more stable margin in the Personal Finance and Mobility business line; French Retail Banking (+3.7%), which was boosted by an improved net interest margin and higher fee and commission income; and lastly, International Retail Banking (-1.8%), which was essentially impacted by the decline in the net interest margin in Italy. The Corporate Centre division recorded an increase in revenues of +€43 million.

    Underlying operating expenses totalled -€3,654 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of +8.2% compared to the third quarter of 2023, reflecting the support given to business line development. The -€278 million year-on-year increase in expenses was mainly due to a -€112 million scope effect,16 integration costs of -€29 million17, and a positive tax-related base effect of -€30 million. Recurring expenses were up by -€141 million, or +4.1% (-€38 million in staff costs, -€76 million in IT investments and -€27 million in other expenses).

    The underlying cost/income ratio in the third quarter of 2024 thus stood at 56.4%, an increase of +0.6 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2023.

    Underlying gross operating income in the third quarter of 2024 stood at €2,830 million, an increase of +5.5% compared to the third quarter of 2023. It was up +4.2% when restated solely for reversals of the Home Purchase Savings Plan provisions.

    As at 30 September 2024, risk indicators confirm the high quality of Crédit Agricole S.A.’s assets and risk coverage level. The diversified loan book is mainly geared towards home loans (26% of gross outstandings) and corporates (43% of Crédit Agricole S.A. gross outstandings). The Non Performing Loans ratio showed little change from the previous quarter and remained low at 2.5%. The coverage ratio18 was high at 71.4%, up +0.1 percentage points over the quarter. Loan loss reserves amounted to €9.6 billion for Crédit Agricole S.A., a -€0.1 billion decline from end-June 2024. Of those loan loss reserves, 34% were for performing loans (percentage in line with previous quarters).

    The underlying cost of risk showed a net addition of -€433 million, up +0.9% from the third quarter of 2023, which included a -€38 million addition for performing loans (stages 1 and 2) (versus a reversal of +€59 million in the third quarter of 2023) and -€388 million in provisioning for proven risks (stage 3) (versus -€487 million in the third quarter of 2023). There was also a small addition of -€7 million for other items (legal provisions). By business line, 52% of the net addition for the quarter came from Specialised Financial Services (unchanged from end-September 2023), 19% from LCL (16% at end-September 2023), 14% from International Retail Banking (28% at end-September 2023), 4% from Large Customers (3% at end-September 2023) and 8% from the Corporate Centre (zero at end-September 2023). The increase in the cost of risk for the Corporate Centre was mainly due to the increase in the risk on financing secured by Foncaris. The provisioning levels were determined by taking into account several weighted economic scenarios and by applying some flat-rate adjustments on sensitive portfolios. The weighted economic scenarios for the third quarter were unchanged from the second quarter, with a favourable scenario (French GDP at +1.2% in 2024, +1.5% in 2025) and an unfavourable scenario (French GDP at -0.2% in 2024 and +0.5% in 2025). In the third quarter of 2024, the cost of risk/outstandings was 32 basis points over a rolling four-quarter period19 and 32 basis points on an annualised quarterly basis20 (an improvement of 1 basis point compared to the third quarter of 2023 for both bases).

    The underlying contribution from equity-accounted entities amounted to €42 million in the third quarter of 2024, down -15.3% compared to the third quarter of 2023, driven in particular by the strong growth of equity-accounted entities in asset management and a decline in the Personal Finance and Mobility business line.

    Underlying income21before tax, discontinued operations and non-controlling interests was up +5.4% to €2,438 million. The underlying effective tax rate stood at 20.2%, i.e. down -3.8 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2023. The underlying tax charge was -€484 million, down -11% mainly due to the impact of reduced-tax disposals of equity interests and the revaluation of securities at fair value in the Insurance business line, partially offset by the increase in the tax rate in Ukraine. Underlying net income before non-controlling interests was up +10.4% to €1,954 million. Non-controlling interests amounted to -€268 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of +7.5%.

    Underlying earnings per share in third quarter of 2024 reached €0.51, increasing by +11.4% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

    Crédit Agricole S.A. – Stated and underlying results, 9M-24 and 9M-23

    €m 9M-24
    stated
    Specific items 9M-24
    underlying
    9M-23
    stated
    Specific items 9M-23
    underlying
    ∆ 9M/9M
    stated
    ∆ 9M/9M
    underlying
                     
    Revenues 20,089 53 20,036 19,140 598 18,542 +5.0% +8.1%
    Operating expenses excl.SRF (10,978) (84) (10,894) (9,922) (18) (9,904) +10.6% +10.0%
    SRF (509) (509) (100.0%) (100.0%)
    Gross operating income 9,111 (30) 9,141 8,709 580 8,129 +4.6% +12.5%
    Cost of risk (1,256) (20) (1,236) (1,338) (84) (1,253) (6.1%) (1.3%)
    Equity-accounted entities 132 (0) 132 136 (39) 175 (3.4%) (24.7%)
    Net income on other assets 5 (23) 28 102 89 13 (95.3%) x 2.1
    Change in value of goodwill n.m. n.m.
    Income before tax 7,991 (73) 8,064 7,609 545 7,064 +5.0% +14.2%
    Tax (1,790) 12 (1,803) (1,832) (149) (1,682) (2.3%) +7.1%
    Net income from discont’d or held-for-sale ope. 7 7 n.m. n.m.
    Net income 6,201 (61) 6,262 5,785 396 5,389 +7.2% +16.2%
    Non controlling interests (803) 16 (820) (771) (2) (769) +4.2% +6.6%
    Net income Group Share 5,397 (45) 5,442 5,014 394 4,620 +7.6% +17.8%
    Earnings per share (€) 1.59 (0.01) 1.60 1.53 0.13 1.40 +3.8% +14.5%
    Cost/Income ratio excl.SRF (%) 54.6%   54.4% 51.8%   53.4% +2.8 pp +1.0 pp

    In the first nine months of 2024, stated net income Group share amounted to €5,397 million, compared with €5,014 million in the first nine months of 2023, an increase of +7.6%.

    Specific items in the first nine months of 2024 had a negative impact of -€45 million on stated net income Group share, and comprise +€39 million in recurring accounting items and -€84 million in non-recurring items. The recurring items mainly correspond to the reversals of and additions to the Home Purchase Savings Plans provisions for +€1 million net, as well as the accounting volatility items of the Large Customers division (the DVA for +€33 million and loan book hedging for +€5 million). Non-recurring items relate to the costs of integrating and acquiring Degroof Petercam (-€27 million) within the Asset Gathering division, the costs of integrating (-€37 million) and acquiring (-€17 million) ISB within the Large Customers division and an additional provision for risk in Ukraine (-€20 million) within the International Retail Banking division.

    Excluding specific items, underlying Net income Group share reached €5,442 million, up +17.8% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    Underlying revenues were up +8.1% compared to the first nine months of 2023, driven by all business lines. Underlying operating expenses were +10% higher than in 2023, essentially reflecting the development of the Group’s business lines and the integration of scope effects, partially offset by the end of the SRF22 building-up period. The underlying cost/income ratio excluding SRF for the period was 54.4%, an increase of 1 percentage point compared to the same period in 2023. Underlying gross operating income totalled €9,141 million, up +12.5% compared to the first nine months of 2023. The underlying cost of risk decreased by -1.3% over the period to -€1,236 million, versus -€1,253 million in 2023. Lastly, underlying contributions from equity-accounted entities amounted to €132 million, down -24.7% over the period.

    Underlying earnings per share were €1.60 per share in the first nine months of 2024, up +14.5% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    Underlying RoTE 23, which is calculated on the basis of an annualised underlying Net Income Group Share 24 and IFRIC charges linearised over the year, net of annualised Additional Tier 1 coupons (return on equity Group share excluding intangibles) and net of foreign exchange impact on reimbursed AT1, and restated for certain volatile items recognised in equity (including unrealised gains and/or losses), reached 14.5% over the first nine months of 2024, up by +1 percentage point compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    Analysis of the activity and the results of Crédit Agricole S.A.’s divisions and business lines

    Activity of the Asset Gathering division

    In the third quarter of 2024, assets under management in the Asset Gathering division (AG) totalled €2,809 billion, up +€46 billion over the quarter (or +1.7%), mainly due to a positive market effect and a good level of net inflows in the three business lines of Asset Management, Insurance and Wealth Management. Over the year, assets under management rose by +13.1%.

    Insurance activity (Crédit Agricole Assurances) was very strong with total premium income of €9.7 billion – a record level for a third quarter – up +38.9% compared to the third quarter of 2023, and up in all three segments: savings/retirement, property and casualty, and death & disability/creditor/group insurance. In total, overall premium income stood at €32.8 billion, up +18.2% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    In Savings/Retirement, third-quarter premium income stood at €7.2 billion, up +56.4% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Business was driven by euro payment bonus campaigns in France, launched during the first quarter, which boosted gross euro inflows, as well as by a confirmed upturn in international business. The unit-linked rate accounted for 32.8% of gross inflows, down -7.5 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2023. This decline is linked to the recovery in gross euro inflows and less favourable market conditions for unit-linked products, in particular the reduced attractiveness of unit-linked bond products. Net inflows totalled +€1.6 billion this quarter, on par with last quarter. This level is made up of positive net inflows from unit-linked contracts (+€0.9 billion) and also from euro funds (+€0.8 billion). In total, Savings/Retirement premium income reached €23.9 billion at the end of September, up +23.1% compared to the end of September 2023.

    Assets under management (savings, retirement and funeral insurance), which stood at €343.2 billion, continued to rise and reached their highest level ever. They were up +€19.0 billion over one year, or +5.8%, and +€12.9 billion since the beginning of the year, or +3.9%. The growth of assets under management was supported by a positive market effect and positive net inflows. Unit-linked contracts reached 29.9% of assets under management, up +2.3 percentage points over one year and +1.0 percentage point compared to the end of December 2023.

    In property and casualty insurance, premium income stood at €1.2 billion in the third quarter of 2024, up +9.2%25 compared to the third quarter of 2023. This growth was driven by volume and price effects. Indeed, at the end of September 2024, the portfolio stood at nearly 16.6 million26 contracts, up +5.1% year-on-year. At the same time, the average premium was up, benefiting from rate revisions in addition to changes in the product mix.  Lastly, the combined ratio at the end of September 2024 stood at 95.5%27, a deterioration of +0.3 percentage point year-on-year due to the unfavourable impact of discounting. In total, at the end of September 2024, premium income stood at €4.9 billion, an increase of +7.8% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    In death & disability/creditor/group insurance, premium income for the third quarter of 2024 stood at €1.3 billion, up +2.2% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Creditor insurance premium income rose by +1.6% compared to the third quarter of 2023, thanks to an upturn in consumer finance and good performance in real estate. Death and disability was up +3.5% compared to the third quarter of 2023, mainly driven by group insurance, which posted an increase of +9.5%. In group insurance, an agreement was signed with Industries Electriques et Gazières in October 2024, with effect from the second half of 2025. In total, at the end of September, premium income from personal protection stood at €4.0 billion, an increase of +5.7% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    In Asset Management (Amundi), Amundi’s assets under management saw a +11.1% increase year-on-year at 30 September 2024 and a +1.6% increase over the quarter to €2,192 billion, an all-time high. The +€35.4 billion increase in assets under management over the quarter was due to a positive market and foreign exchange impact of +€32.5 billion and positive net inflows of +€2.9 billion.

    This quarter’s net inflows include the exit from a mandate worth €11.6 billion with a European insurer, which was not generating much revenue. Adjusted for this outflow, net inflows for the quarter stood at +€14.4 billion, including +€9.1 billion in medium- and long-term assets28, driven by active management and ETFs. Structured products and real and alternative assets also recorded positive inflows, while treasury products28 were stable. Lastly, the JVs continued their solid commercial momentum, with net inflows of +€5.3 billion, reflecting a positive contribution from India and South Korea.

    By customer segment, Retail inflows (+€6.3 billion in the third quarter of 2024) were driven by the excellent momentum of third-party distributors (+€6.8 billion), across all regions and with good diversification of inflows by asset class. Excluding the loss of the insurance mandate mentioned above, the Institutional segment recorded very positive inflows in MLT assets across all segments, in particular Institutional and Sovereign, and on mandates from insurers in the Crédit Agricole Groupe and the Société Générale group, thanks to the continued recovery in the euro-denominated life insurance policies market in France during the quarter. Treasury products, on the other hand, experienced sharp seasonal outflows in this segment.

    In Wealth Management, total assets under management (CA Indosuez Wealth Management and LCL Private Banking) amounted to €274 billion at the end of September 2024, and were up +2.7% compared to June 2024 and +46.9% compared to September 2023.

    Indosuez Wealth Management had assets under management of €209.2 billion29 at the end of September, up +2.1%, or +€4.2 billion, compared to the end of June 2024 due to a positive market effect of +€2.5 billion and good level of activity with positive net inflows of +€1.8 billion, driven in particular by Switzerland and Asia. The quarter also saw Degroof Petercam funds begin to be marketed to Indosuez clients. Compared with the end of September 2023, assets under management were up by +€84.3 billion (or +67.5%), taking into account a scope effect of €69 billion (integration of Degroof Petercam in June 2024), a positive market effect and a good level of net inflows.

    In LCL’s Private Banking division, assets under management at the end of September totalled €64.8 billion, up by +€1.0 billion or +1.5% compared to the end of June 2024, thanks to a positive market effect and positive net inflows. Compared with the end of September 2023, assets under management were up by +€3.2 billion (or +5.3%), mainly due to a positive market effect, and also to positive net inflows.

    Results of the Asset Gathering division

    In the third quarter of 2024, AG generated €1,870 million in revenues, up +12.9% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Expenses rose by +20.9% to -€868 million. Thus, the cost/income ratio stood at 46.4%, up +3.0 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2023. Gross operating income stood at €1,002 million, up +6.9% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Taxes stood at -€157 million, compared with -€221 million at the end of September 2023 (down -29.1%). The net income Group share of AG stood at €728 million, up +17.1% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

    At the end of September 2024, AG generated revenues of €5,603 million, up +9.1% compared to the end of September 2023. The increase is explained by a very high level of revenues in all three business lines: Insurance, Asset Management and Wealth Management. Costs excluding SRF increased +13.4%. As a result, the cost/income ratio excluding SRF stood at 43.5%, up +1.6 percentage points compared to the end of September 2023. Gross operating income stood at €3,168 million, an increase of +6.3% compared to the end of September 2023. Taxes stood at -€659 million, compared with -€699 million at the end of September 2023 (down -5.7%). The net income Group share of AG stood at €2,180 million, up +9.3% compared to the first nine months of 2023. Net income Group share increased between the first nine months of 2023 and the first nine months of 2024 in Asset Management (+10.2%) and the Insurance business lines (+11.3%), but was down in Wealth Management (-18.9%).

    At the end of September 2024, the Asset Gathering division contributed by 37% to the underlying net income Group share of the Crédit Agricole S.A. core businesses (excluding Corporate Centre division) and 27% to underlying revenues excluding the Corporate Centre division.

    As at 30 September 2024, equity allocated to the division amounted to €12.6 billion, including €10.4 billion for Insurance, €1.3 billion for Asset Management, and €0.8 billion for Wealth Management. The division’s risk-weighted assets amounted to €58.7 billion, including €35.7 billion for Insurance, €14.1 billion for Asset Management and €8.9 billion for Wealth Management.

    The underlying RoNE (return on normalised equity) stood at 27.1% for the first nine months of 2024.

    Insurance results

    In the third quarter of 2024, insurance revenues amounted to €635 million, down -1.2% compared to the third quarter of 2023. This includes €418 million from savings/retirement30, €117 million from personal protection31 and €40 million from property and casualty insurance32. Against a backdrop of increased business activity, the decline in revenues is explained in particular by the change in Property & Casualty claims, which were low in the third quarter of 2023 and higher in the third quarter of 2024, particularly for crop insurance, as well as by an unfavourable effect linked to the replacement of AT1 debt (for which the expense was recorded as minority interests) by Tier 2 debt (the cost of which is deducted from revenues).

    The contractual service margin (CSM) stood at €24.9 billion, up +4.5% since 31 December 2023. In the first nine months of 2024, the impact of the stock revaluation was positive, and the impact of new business exceeded the CSM allocation.

    Non-attributable expenses for the quarter stood at €85 million, up +5.1% over the third quarter of 2023. Gross operating income stood at €550 million, down -2.1% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Taxes stood at -€51 million, compared with -€131 million for the third quarter of 2023. This decline is due to a re-estimation of the tax rate including the impact of reduced-tax disposals of equity interests and the revaluation of securities at fair value, which took place during the quarter. Net income Group share stood at €478 million, up +16.2% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

    Revenues from insurance in the first nine months of 2024 came to €2,130 million, up +5.4% compared to the total at the end of September 2023. Non-attributable expenses came to €264 million, i.e. an increase of +11.4%. The cost/income ratio stood at 12.4%, below the target ceiling of 15% set by the Medium-Term Plan. Gross operating income stood at €1,866 million, up +4.6% compared to the first nine months of 2023. The tax charge stood at -€354 million, below the September 2023 level of -€411 million. Net income Group share amounted to €1,466 million, up +11.3% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    Insurance contributed by 25% to the underlying net income Group share of the Crédit Agricole S.A. core businesses (excluding the Corporate Centre division) at the end of September 2024 and by 10% to their underlying revenues.

    Asset Management results

    In the third quarter of 2024, revenues amounted to €838 million, showing double-digit growth (+10.3% compared to the third quarter of 2023). The +9.2% increase in management fee and commission income compared to the third quarter of 2023 reflects the good level of activity and the increase in average assets under management excluding JVs (which increased by +8.6% over the same period, and by +1.2% between the second and third quarter). Performance fees increased by +€10 million compared with the third quarter of 2023, but there were fewer crystallisation dates in the third quarter than in the second or fourth quarters. Amundi Technology’s revenues increased by +41.8% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Financial revenues were down by -10.6% compared to third quarter of 2023. Operating expenses stood at -€466 million, up +7.5% mainly due to the consolidation of Alpha Associates, accelerated investment and the impact of revenue growth on variable compensation. The jaws effect was positive over the quarter. The cost/income ratio thus stood at 55.6%, an improvement year-on-year (-1.5 percentage point). Gross operating income increased by +14.1% compared to the third quarter of 2023. The contribution from equity-accounted entities, comprising the contribution from Amundi’s Asian joint ventures, stood at €33 million, up +36.4% from the third quarter of 2023, driven mainly by the strong growth of the contribution from SBI MF in India. The income tax charge stood at -€92 million, up +14.9%. Net income before non-controlling interests was €312 million, up +16.4% compared to the total at the end of September 2023. Net income Group share stood at €208 million, up +16.8% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

    In the first nine months of 2024, revenues rose by +7.2% in asset management, reflecting sustained growth in management fee and commission income and a sharp increase in Amundi Technology revenues (€54m, +28.2%) and net financial income. Performance fees were down slightly (-2.0%). Operating expenses excluding SRF increased by +6.3%. The cost/income ratio excluding SRF was 55.3%, stable compared to the total at the end of September 2023. As a result, gross operating income was up +8.8% compared to the first nine months of 2023. The net income of equity-accounted entities increased by +28.4%. All in all, net income Group share for the half-year stood at €623 million, an increase of +10.2%.

    Asset management contributed 10% to the underlying net income Group share of Crédit Agricole S.A.’s core businesses (excluding the Corporate Centre division) at end September 2024 and by 12% to their underlying revenues.

    At 30 September 2024, equity allocated to the Asset Management business line amounted to €1.3 billion, while risk-weighted assets totalled €14.1 billion.

    Wealth Management results33

    Revenues of Wealth Management stood at €397 million in the third quarter of 2024, up +56.6% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Revenues benefited from the impact of the integration of Degroof Petercam in June 2024; excluding this effect, they were supported by the good momentum of management fee and commission income, which offset the erosion of interest revenues. Expenses totalled -€317 million, up +55.5% compared to the third quarter of 2023, due to the impact of the integration of Degroof Petercam in June 202434 and integration costs of -€8 million in the third quarter. Restated for these impacts, growth in expenses is stable (+0.2% compared to the third quarter of 2023). The cost/income ratio in the third quarter of 2024 stood at 79.9%, down -0.6 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2023. Gross operating income stood at €80 million, up +61.4% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Cost of risk was -€11 million in the third quarter of 2024, including the recognition of litigations and provisions for various cases. Net income on other assets stood at -€3 million in the third quarter of 2024, corresponding to the Degroof Petercam acquisition costs, restated as specific items. Net income Group share amounted to €42 million, up +30.6% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

    In the first nine months of 2024, Wealth Management’s revenues rose by +24.7% compared to the end of September 2023, notably benefiting from the integration of Degroof Petercam in June 2024 to reach €967 million. Expenses excluding SRF rose by +29.3% due to the impact of the integration of Degroof Petercam in June 2024 and the €14 million in integration costs. Restated for these impacts, growth in expenses is under control, increasing by +3.6% compared to the first nine months of 2023, due in particular to an unfavourable base effect in 2023. Gross operating income thus rose by +10.0% to €181 million. The cost of risk was -€12 million at the end of September 2024 (it was +€1 million at the end of September 2023). Net income on other assets stood at -€23 million at the end of September 2024, corresponding to the Degroof Petercam acquisition costs, restated as specific items. Net income Group share stood at €91 million for the first nine months of 2024, down -18.9% compared to the first nine months of 2023, but up +4.5% after restatement for integration and acquisition costs.

    Wealth Management contributed 2% of Crédit Agricole S.A.’s business lines underlying net income Group share. (excluding the Corporate Centre division) at end September 2024 and by 5% to their underlying revenues.

    At 30 September 2024, equity allocated to Wealth Management was €0.8 billion and risk-weighted assets totalled €8.9 billion.

    Activity of the Large Customers division

    Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) once again posted a very good performance in the third quarter of 2024 (best third quarter and best year-to-date in terms of both revenues and results). Asset servicing also recorded strong business momentum during the period.

    CIB third-quarter underlying revenues rose sharply to €1,528 million, an increase of +8.0% compared to the third quarter of 2023, driven by growth in its two business lines. Revenues from Financing activities were up +7.2% compared to the third quarter of 2023, at €809 million. This was mainly due to the excellent performance of Commercial Banking (+9.5% compared to the third quarter of 2023), driven by the development of Corporate activities, especially in the Telecom sector, and a good level of revenues from asset financing and project financing. Capital Markets and Investment Banking also reported revenue growth of +9.0% compared to the third quarter of 2023, at €719 million, driven by the continued high level of performance of Capital Markets (+6.2% compared to the third quarter of 2023 for FICC) and the good level of activity in Investment Banking, (+22.8% compared to the third quarter of 2023), confirming the trend observed at the end of the first half of 2024.

    Financing activities thus confirmed its leading position in syndicated loans (#2 in France35 and #2 in EMEA35). Crédit Agricole CIB reaffirmed its strong position in bond issues (#3 All bonds in EUR Worldwide35) and was ranked #2 in Green, Social & Sustainable bonds in EUR36. Average regulatory VaR stood at €10.1 million in the third quarter of 2024, unchanged from the second quarter of 2024 when it was €10.1 million. It remained at a level that reflected prudent risk management.

    In addition, the third quarter of 2024 saw the continued migration of ISB (formerly RBC Investor Services in Europe) customer portfolios to CACEIS platforms, following the effective merger of the legal entities with those of CACEIS on 31 May 2024. Customer migration is expected to continue until the end of 2024. As a reminder, ISB integration costs will be recorded during the year for an amount of around €80 million to €100 million, including €25.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, i.e. €70 million recorded in the first nine months of 2024.

    In the third quarter of 2024, solid customer business and market effects supported growth in assets over the year. Assets under custody increased by +1.9% at the end of September 2024 compared to the end of June 2024 and increased by +12.1% compared to the end of September 2023, to reach €5,061 billion. Assets under administration were down -1.2% over the quarter (planned exit of some ISB customers) and up +4.2% year-on-year, reaching €3,386 billion at the end of September 2024.

    Results of the Large Customers division

    In the third quarter of 2024, stated revenues of the Large Customers division once again reached a record level of €2,054 million, up +8.8% compared to the third quarter of 2023, buoyed by excellent performance in the Corporate and Investment Banking and Asset Servicing business lines. The division’s specific items this quarter had an impact of +€2.8 million on Corporate and Investment Banking and comprised the DVA, the issuer spread portion of the FVA and secured lending amounting to +€3.6 million, and loan book hedging totalling -€0.8 million. Operating expenses were up compared to the third quarter of 2023 (+8.8%), due, on the one hand, to IT investments and the development of the business lines’ activity and, on the other hand, to the recognition of ISB integration costs of -€25.9 million, restated as specific items. As a result, the division’s gross operating income was up +8.8% from the third quarter of 2023 to €814 million. The division recorded an overall net addition for cost of risk of -€19 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared with an addition of -€13 million in the third quarter of 2023. Stated pre-tax income totalled €800 million, an increase over the period (+8.2%). The tax charge was
    -€234 million. Lastly, stated Net income Group share reached €520 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared with stated income of €488 million in the third quarter of 2023. Underlying net income Group share came to €532 million in the third quarter of 2024, versus €488 million in the third quarter of 2023.

    Over the first nine months of 2024, stated revenues of the Large Customers division amounted to a record high of €6,543 million, i.e. +12.0% compared to the first nine months of 2023. Operating expenses excluding SRF rose +13.4% compared to the same period to -€3,298 million, largely related to employee expenses and IT investments, and including ISB integration costs of -€70 million. Gross operating income for the first nine months of 2024 totalled €2,802 million, representing an increase of +25.4% compared to the first nine months of 2023. Over the period, the cost of risk recorded a net addition of -€25 million, compared to an addition of -€81 million in the same period. The business line’s contribution to stated Net income Group share was €1,936 million, a strong increase of +30.3% compared to the first nine months of 2023. Underlying net income Group share came to €1,935 million in the first nine months of 2024, versus €1,520 million in the first nine months of 2023.

    The division contributed 33% to the underlying net income Group share of Crédit Agricole S.A.’s core businesses (excluding the Corporate Centre division) at end September 2024 and 31% to underlying revenues excluding the Corporate Centre.

    At 30 September 2024, the equity allocated to the division was €13.3 billion and its risk-weighted assets were €140.5 billion.

    Underlying RoNE (return on normalised equity) stood at 19.0% at the end of September 2024.

    Corporate and Investment Banking results

    In the third quarter of 2024, Corporate and Investment Banking stated revenues reached a record at €1,531 million, up +8.2% from the third quarter of 2023. The Corporate and Investment Banking division’s specific items this quarter had an impact of +€2.8 million and comprised the DVA, the issuer spread portion of the FVA, and secured lending amounting to +€3.6 million, and loan book hedging totalling -€0.8 million. Operating expenses rose by +7.2% to -€864 million, mainly due to IT investments and the development of business line activities. Gross operating income rose sharply by +9.5% compared to the third quarter of 2023, taking it to a high level of +€667 million. The cost/income ratio was 56.4%, a slight change of -0.5 percentage point over the period. The cost of risk recorded a limited net provision of -€14 million, stable compared to the third quarter of 2023. Lastly, pre-tax income in the third quarter of 2024 stood at €653 million, versus €596 million in the third quarter of 2023. The tax charge stood at -€195 million. Lastly, stated net income Group share rose sharply by +10.3% to €446 million in the third quarter of 2024.

    Over the first nine months of 2024, stated revenues rose by +7.6% compared to the excellent level recorded in the first nine months of 2023, to a record level of €4,995 million. The specific items over the period had an impact of +€52.2 million and comprised the DVA (the issuer spread portion of the FVA and secured lending) amounting to +€45.8 million, and loan book hedging totalling +€6.3 million. Operating expenses excluding SRF rose +5.1%, mainly due to variable compensation and investments in IT and employees to support the development of the business lines. Thus, gross operating income of €2,370 million was up sharply (+26.5% compared to the first nine months of 2023). The cost of risk recorded a net provision of -€7 million in the first nine months of 2024, compared to a net provision of -€80 million in the first nine months of 2023. The income tax charge stood at -€609 million, up +27.1%. Lastly, stated net income Group share stood at €1,715 million for the first nine months of 2024, an increase of +33.6% over the period, the highest historical level. Underlying Net income Group share stood at €1,677 million over the first nine months of 2024, versus €1,318 million over the same period in 2023.

    Risk-weighted assets at the end of September 2024 were down -€2.7 billion compared to the end of June 2024 at €128.6 billion, still well under control with business growth.

    Asset servicing results

    In the third quarter of 2024, the revenues of Asset Servicing were up +10.7% compared to the third quarter of 2023, standing at €523 million. This rise was driven in particular by high fee and commission income, itself driven by the increase in assets and by the favourable trend in NIM. Operating expenses rose by +12.8% to
    -€376 million, including -€4 million in scope effects linked to the consolidation of the remaining ISB entities and a -€25.8 million in ISB integration costs restated as specific items. Excluding these effects, the increase in expenses was +5.5% compared to the third quarter of 2023. As a result, gross operating income was up by +5.7% to €147 million in the third quarter of 2024. Thus, the cost/income ratio stood at 71.9%, up +1.3 percentage points. Excluding ISB integration costs and the consolidation of the remaining ISB entities, it stood at 66.2%, an improvement of 3.3 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2023. The quarter also recorded +€6 million in income from equity-accounted entities. Net income thus totalled €109 million, down -10.8% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Adjusted for the €35 million share of non-controlling interests, the business line’s contribution to stated net income Group share totalled €74 million in the third quarter of 2024, down -11.7% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Excluding ISB integration costs, net income Group share was up +4.8% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

    Stated revenues for the first nine months of 2024 were up +28.7% compared to the same period in 2023, buoyed by the integration of ISB, strong commercial momentum and a favourable trend in the interest margin over the period. Expenses excluding SRF were up +39.2% and included a scope effect of -€207 million over the first six months of 2024 and -€70 million in ISB integration costs. Gross operating income was up +20.0% compared to the first nine months of 2023. The cost/income ratio stood at 72.1%, an improvement of 5.5 points compared to the third quarter of 2023. Net income thus rose by +10.1%. The overall contribution of the business line to net income Group share in the first nine months of 2024 was €221 million, a +9.3% increase compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    Specialised financial services activity

    Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility’s (CAPFM) commercial production totalled €11.6 billion in the third quarter of 2024, stable compared to the third quarter of 2023. The share of automotive financing37 in quarterly new business production stood at 50.6% this quarter. The average customer rate for production was down -24 basis points from the second quarter of 2024. CAPFM’s assets under management stood at €116.8 billion at the end of September 2024, up +5.2% compared to the end of September 2023, driven by all activities (Automotive +6,9%38; LCL and Regional Banks +5.6%; Other entities +3.3%). Lastly, consolidated outstandings totalled €68.9 billion at the end of September 2024, up +4.7% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

    CAPFM has announced a number of recent developments: a plan to acquire 50% of GAC Leasing; a pan-European partnership with GAC Motor International to entrust CA Auto Bank with the financing of vehicles made by Chinese manufacturer GAC; a partnership with FATEC to offer a fleet management service to its customers; and an agreement with EDF to ramp up the installation of electric charging stations in France.

    Crédit Agricole Leasing & Factoring (CAL&F) commercial production increased by +13.6% compared to the third quarter of 2023. It was driven by all business lines, and was particularly strong in property leasing and renewable energy financing. Property leasing continued to grow in France and abroad. Leasing outstandings rose +8.8% year-on-year, both in France (+6.7%) and internationally (+17.4%), to reach €20.1 billion at the end of September 2024 (of which €15.9 billion in France and €4.2 billion internationally). Commercial factoring production fell by -17% compared to the third quarter of 2023. As a reminder, the third quarter of 2023 was marked by record production in Germany. Factoring outstandings at the end of September 2024 were stable compared to the end of September 2023.

    On 31 October 2024, Crédit Agricole Leasing & Factoring announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire Merca Leasing in Germany.

    Specialised financial services’ results

    The revenues of Specialised Financial Services rose to €869 million in the third quarter of 2024, down slightly by -1.6% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Expenses stood at -€437 million, up +3.1% compared to the third quarter of 2023. The cost/income ratio stood at 48%, up +2.3 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023. Gross operating income thus stood at €433 million, down -5.9% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Cost of risk reached -€223 million, stable compared to the third quarter of 2023. Net income from equity-accounted entities rose significantly (x4.5 compared to the third quarter of 2023) to €23 million. Excluding the base effect39 related to the reorganisation of Mobility activities at CAPFM, the change was -20.7%. Net income on other assets stood at -€2 million, versus €57 million in the third quarter of 2023. Excluding the base effect39 related to the reorganisation of Mobility activities at CAPFM, the change was -52.5%. The division’s Net income Group share amounted to €172 million, down -15.6% compared to the same period in 2023, and down -7% excluding the base effect39.

    Over the first nine months of 2024, revenues for the Specialised Financial Services division fell by-4.1%, but rose by +7.8% excluding the base effect40 related to the reorganisation of Mobility activities at CAPFM, compared to the first nine months of 2023. This favourable trend was driven by a good performance in CAL&F (+8.5%) and by higher revenues for CAPFM excluding the base effect40 (+7,6%), benefiting from the scope effects linked to the strategic pivot around Mobility at CAPFM, which led to the 100% consolidation of Crédit Agricole Auto Bank from the second quarter of 2023 and of ALD and LeasePlan activities in six European countries, as well as the acquisition of a majority stake in the capital of Hiflow in the third quarter of 2023. Underlying costs excluding SRF increased by +8.9% compared to the first nine months of 2023. Expenses excluding SRF, the base effect40 and scope effects rose by +3.1%. The cost/income ratio stood at 51.2%, or +6.1 percentage points versus the same period in 2023; excluding the base effect40, the change was +1.3 percentage points. The cost of risk was down -4.9% compared to the first nine months of 2023, to -€653 million, and up +8.4% excluding the base effect40. This increase incorporated in particular the impact of scope effects. The contribution from equity-accounted entities was down -8.5% versus the same period in 2023, and down -35.9% excluding the base effect40, due to the full consolidation of Crédit Agricole Auto Bank in the second quarter of 2023, which was previously accounted for using the equity method. Net income on other assets amounted to -€3 million at the end of September 2024, compared to €81 million at the end of September 2023 (-€7 million excluding the base effect40). Net income Group share thus came to €502 million, down -21% compared to the first nine months of 2023, but up +5.4% excluding the base effect40 related to the reorganisation of Mobility activities at CAPFM.

    The business line contributed 8% to the underlying net income Group share of Crédit Agricole S.A.’s core businesses. (excluding the Corporate Centre division) at the end of September 2024 and 13% to underlying revenues excluding the Corporate Centre.

    At 30 September 2024, the equity allocated to the division was €6.8 billion and its risk-weighted assets were €71.8 billion.

    The underlying RoNE (return on normalised equity) stood at 9.0% for the first nine months of 2024.

    Personal Finance and Mobility results

    CAPFM revenues totalled €678 million in the third quarter of 2024, down -4.2% compared to the third quarter of 2023. The price effect remained negative in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter of 2023, but stabilised compared to the second quarter of 2024, thanks in particular to an improved production margin rate over the last few quarters (stable in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the second quarter of 2024, and up by +86 basis points compared to the third quarter of 2023). Expenses remained under control at -€338 million, up +2.4% compared to the same period in 2023. Gross operating income stood at €340 million, down -10%. The cost/income ratio stood at 49.8%, up +3.2 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023. The cost of risk stood at -€201 million, down -2.4% from the third quarter of 2023. The cost of risk/outstandings thus stood at 112 basis points41, an improvement of -16 basis points compared to the third quarter of 2023. The Non Performing Loans ratio was 4.5% at the end of June 2024, up +0.2 percentage point compared to the end of June 2024, while the coverage ratio reached 74.2%, down -1.6 percentage points compared to the end of June 2024. The contribution from equity-accounted entities rose sharply (x5.1) compared to the same period in 2023, and fell by -20.7% excluding the base effect related to the reorganisation of Mobility activities39. Net income on other assets amounted to -€2 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to €57 million in the third quarter of 2023. Excluding the base effect39, net income on other assets of the third quarter of 203 amounted to -€4 million. As a result, net income Group share totalled €118 million in the third quarter of 2024, i.e. -20.9% compared to the same period the previous year. Excluding the base effect39, net income Group share was down -9.3%.

    In the first nine months of 2024, CAPFM’s revenues totalled €2,042 million, down -7.1% compared with the first nine months of 2023, but up +7.6% excluding the base effect related to the reorganisation of Mobility activities42. Revenues benefited from scope effects related to the strategic pivot around Mobility, leading to the full consolidation of Crédit Agricole Auto Bank from the second quarter of 2023 and the consolidation of the ALD and LeasePlan activities in six European countries, as well as the acquisition of a majority stake in the capital of Hiflow in the third quarter of 2023. Expenses excluding SRF stood at -€1,035 million, an increase of +9.9% on 2023. Expenses excluding SRF, excluding the base effect42 and scope effects, were up +2.2%. Gross operating income therefore came in at €1,007 million, which was a drop of -19% but an increase of +4.7% excluding the base effect42. The cost/income ratio stood at 50.7%, or +7.9 percentage points versus the same period in 2023. When restated for the base effect, the change was +2.1 percentage points. Cost of risk fell -7.3% compared with the first nine months of 2023 to -€591 million, but rose +6.8% when the base effect42 is excluded. This rise notably includes the impact of scope effects. The contribution from equity-accounted entities was down -5.4% versus the same period in 2023, and down -33.1% excluding the base effect42 related to the scope effects of Crédit Agricole Auto Bank, which was fully consolidated in the second quarter of 2023 having previously been accounted for using the equity method. Income on other assets fell -55.5%, or -63,4% excluding the base effect42. As a result, net income Group share stood at €349 million in the first nine months of 2024, i.e. -31.3% from the same period one year earlier. Excluding the base effect42, net income Group share was stable at -0.1% compared with the same period in 2023.

    Leasing & Factoring results

    CAL&F’s revenues totalled €192 million, up +8.5% compared with the third quarter of 2023. This increase was driven by all business lines and benefited from volume effects (increase in factored revenues and equipment leasing outstandings). Expenses remained under control with an increase of +4.8%, while the cost/income ratio stood at 51.6%, an improvement of -1.8 percentage points from the third quarter of 2023. Gross operating income rose +12.7% to €93 million, with a positive jaws effect of +3.7 percentage points. Cost of risk totalled -€22 million, up +25.1% compared with the same period in 2023, linked to economic conditions in the corporate market. Cost of risk/outstandings stood at 22 basis points41, down slightly from the third quarter of 2023. As a result, net income Group share was €54 million, down -1.8% compared with the third quarter of 2023.

    In the first nine months of 2024, revenues totalled €563 million, an increase of +8.5% compared with the first nine months of 2023. Costs excluding SRF increased by +5.7% to €298 million. Gross operating income rose sharply to €265 million, a +19.8% increase compared with the first nine months of 2023. The underlying cost/income ratio excluding SRF amounted to 53%, an improvement of -1.4 percentage points compared with the first nine months of 2023. Cost of risk was up compared with the same period of 2023 (+26.7%). The business line’s contribution to underlying net income Group share was €153 million, up +20.2% compared with the first nine months of 2023.

    Crédit Agricole S.A. Retail Banking activity

    Activity in Crédit Agricole S.A.’s Retail Banking business was solid during the quarter, with customer capture continuing at a good pace and an increasing number of customers taking out insurance policies. Home loan production in France is steadily recovering, while continuing to rise for corporate loans. Outside France, loan activity was dynamic.

    Retail banking activity in France

    In the third quarter of 2024, activity remained buoyant with the confirmed recovery in mortgage lending and the continued stabilisation of the mix of inflows.

    Gross customer capture for the quarter stood at 76,000 new customers and net customer capture came in at 9,700 customers. The equipment rate for car, multi-risk home, health, legal, all mobile phones or personal accident insurance rose by +0.3 percentage points to stand at 27.9% at end-September 2024.

    Loan production totalled €7.5 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of +11%. The third quarter of 2024 confirmed the recovery in home loan production (+17% compared to the third quarter of 2023 and +73% compared to the second quarter of 2023), boosted by the proactive pricing policy. The average production rate for home loans came to 3.38%, down -46 basis points from the second quarter of 2024 and -32 basis points year on year. The home loan stock rate improved by +5 basis points over the quarter and by +18 basis points year on year. The solid momentum continued in the corporate market (+16% year on year). Production for small businesses declined in a competitive market and challenging economic environment.

    Outstanding loans stood at €169 billion at end-September 2024, representing a quarter-on-quarter increase of +0.4% and a year-on-year increase of +0.5% (of which +0.6% for home loans, +0.7% for loans to small businesses, +1.0% for consumer finance and -0.1% for corporate loans). Customer assets totalled €253.3 billion at end-September 2024, up +5.1% year on year, driven by interest-earning deposits and off-balance sheet funds. Customer assets also edged up +0.6% during the quarter. This was accompanied by the continued stabilisation of demand deposit volumes (+0.4% compared with end-June 2024) in a still-uncertain environment, as well as term deposits (-2.9% compared with end-June 2024). Off-balance sheet deposits benefited from a positive year-on-year market effect across all segments and positive net inflows in life insurance.

    Retail banking activity in Italy

    In the third quarter of 2024, CA Italy posted a gross customer capture of 43,000, while the customer base grew by around 13,000 customers.

    Loan outstandings at CA Italy stood at €61.3 billion43 at end-September 2024, up +3.0% compared with end-September 2023. This was despite the downturn in the Italian market44, mostly in the retail segment, which posted an increase in outstandings of +3.6%. Loan production, buoyed by the solid momentum in all markets, rose 7.5% compared with the third quarter of 2023. Home loan production remained steady (+7% compared with the second quarter of 2024), despite a -12% year-on-year decline due to a base effect linked to the success of the promotional campaign which ran in the third quarter of 2023. The loan stock rate was down -17 basis points on the second quarter of 2024, in line with the general trend in Italian market rates.

    Customer assets at end-September 2024 totalled €117.4 billion, up +3.7% compared with end-September 2023; on-balance sheet deposits were relatively unchanged from the previous year at +0.4%, while the cost of inflows decreased. Lastly, off-balance sheet deposits rose +9.2%, benefiting from a market effect and positive net inflows.

    CA Italy’s equipment rate in car, multi-risk home, health, legal, all mobile phones or personal accident insurance increased to 20.0%, up 1.7 percentage points compared with the third quarter of 2023.

    International Retail Banking activity excluding Italy

    For International Retail Banking excluding Italy, loan outstandings were up +4.2% at current exchange rates at end-September 2024 compared with end-September 2023 (+6.7% at constant exchange rates). Customer assets rose slightly by +0.4% over the same period at current exchange rates (+8.1% at constant exchange rates).

    In Poland in particular, loan outstandings increased by +11.8% versus September 2023 (+3.6% at constant exchange rates) and customer assets by +14% (+5.5% at constant exchange rates), against a backdrop of fierce competition for deposits. Loan production in Poland also remained strong, rising +32.4% compared with the third quarter of 2023 at current exchange rates (up +26% at constant exchange rates).

    In Egypt, loan outstandings rose -18.3% between end-September 2024 and end-September 2023 (+34.6% at constant exchange rates). Over the same period, inflows fell by -36.6% but were still up +4% at constant exchange rates.

    The surplus of deposits over loans in Poland and Egypt amounted to €1.6 billion at 30 September 2024, and totalled €3.2 billion including Ukraine.

    French retail banking results

    In the third quarter of 2024, LCL’s revenues stood at €979 million, down -1.7% compared with the third quarter of 2023 due to a base effect related to the reversal of the provision for Home Purchase Saving Plans in the third quarter of 202345. Excluding this base effect, revenues grew by +3.7% as a result of both net interest margin and fee and commission income. Net interest margin, excluding the Home Purchase Saving Plan base effect45, rose +2.3%45 year on year, benefiting from positive exceptional items related to the revaluation of equity investments. In addition, the increase in the cost of funding continued to weigh on the net interest margin, partially offset by the positive impact of gradual loan repricing and the favourable impact of the contribution of macro-hedging (virtually unchanged year on year). Fee and commission income was up +5.1% compared with the third quarter of 2023, driven by all activities.

    Expenses rose +3.2% to stand at -€608 million. The increase for the period is mainly related to the increase in property expenses and IT costs. The cost/income ratio stood at 62.1%, a rise of +2.9 percentage points compared with the third quarter of 2023. Gross operating income was down -8.8%, to €371 million (up +4.5% excluding the Home Purchase Saving Plan base effect45).

    The cost of risk was up +17% compared with the third quarter of 2023 to -€82 million (including +€18 million in cost of risk on performing loans, -€94 million in proven risk, and -€5 million in other risks). This increase was mainly due to corporate specific files and to the consumer finance segment. The cost of risk/outstandings remained under control, at 23 basis points. The coverage ratio stood at 59.8% at end-September 2024 (-1 percentage point compared with end-June 2024). The Non Performing Loans ratio reached 2.1% at end-September 2024, stable compared with end-June 2024 (+0.1 percentage point). As a result, net income Group share decreased by -19.2% compared with the third quarter of 2024 (-6.2% excluding the Home Purchase Saving Plan base effect45).

    In the first nine months of 2024, LCL revenues totalled €2,912 million, a +0.7% increase compared with the first nine months of 2023. The net interest margin was slightly up (+0.5%), benefiting from gradual loan repricing and the positive impact of macro-hedging, in the context of rising refinancing and funding costs, and positive exceptional items in the second and third quarters of 2024 (positive valuation effects on equity investments). Fee and commission income was up +0.9% compared with the first nine months of 2023 (impacted by the base effect of Image cheque in 202346, particularly in the life insurance and payment instrument segments. Expenses excluding SRF rose +3.4% over the period as a result of the increase in staff and IT costs, partially offset by a one-off impact on taxation and a base effect related to end-of-career allowances. The cost/income ratio excluding SRF stood at 61.8% (+1.6 percentage points compared with the first nine months of 2023). Gross operating income grew slightly by +0.5% year on year. Cost of risk increased by +44.3%, impacted by the rise in proven risk from corporates and recent consumer finance production. All in all, the business line’s contribution to net income Group share stood at €607 million, down -9.8% (-5% excluding Home Purchase Saving Plan base effect)

    In the end, the business line contributed 10% to the underlying net income Group share of Crédit Agricole S.A.’s core businesses. (excluding the Corporate Centre division) in the first nine months of 2024 and 14% to underlying revenues excluding the Corporate Centre.

    At 30 September 2024, the equity allocated to the business line stood at €5.3 billion and risk-weighted assets amounted to €55.3 billion. LCL’s underlying RoNE (return on normalised equity) stood at 14.4% for the first nine months of 2024.

    International Retail Banking results47

    In the third quarter of 2024, revenues for International Retail Banking totalled €1,006 million, falling slightly by -1.8% (+1.2% at constant exchange rates) compared with the third quarter of 2023. Operating expenses were under control at €519 million, an increase of +3.1% (+4.4% at constant exchange rates) Gross operating income consequently totalled €486 million, down -6.5% (-2.1% at constant exchange rates) for the period. Cost of risk amounted to -€59 million, down -51.1% compared with the third quarter of 2023 (-50.1% at constant exchange rates).

    All in all, net income Group share for CA Italy, CA Egypt, CA Poland and CA Ukraine amounted to €194 million in the third quarter of 2024, up +13.9% (-12.9% at constant exchange rates). This included a negative impact of -€40 million following the change in the corporate income tax rate in Ukraine.

    For the first nine months of 2024, International Retail Banking revenues rose by +3.9% to €3,090 million (+0.6% at constant exchange rates). Expenses excluding SRF and DGS stood at -€1,522 million, an increase of 2.1% compared with the first nine months of 2023. Gross operating income totalled €1,510 million, up +4.6% (+1.1% at constant exchange rates). Cost of risk fell by -41.0% (-23.0% at constant exchange rates) to -€213 million compared with the first nine months of 2023. In the end, net income Group share for International Retail Banking came to €678 million, versus €600 million in the first nine months of 2023, and included a negative impact of around -€40 million following the change in corporate income tax rate in Ukraine.

    In the first nine months of 2024, International Retail Banking contributed 12% to the underlying net income Group share of Crédit Agricole S.A.’s core businesses (excluding the Corporate Centre) and 15% to underlying revenues excluding the Corporate Centre.

    As at 30 September 2024, the capital allocated to International Retail Banking was €4.4 billion and risk-weighted assets totalled €46.3 billion.

    Results in Italy

    In the third quarter of 2024, revenues for Crédit Agricole Italy amounted to €764 million, down -2.5% compared with the third quarter of 2023. Revenues were impacted by a -2.5% decline in net interest margin compared with the third quarter of 2023 but were boosted by fee and commission income from assets under management, which remained relatively unchanged at +0.7%. Operating expenses were stable at 0.9% compared with the third quarter of 2023.

    Cost of risk amounted to -€48 million in the third quarter of 2024, down -43.4% from the third quarter of 2023, and corresponded almost entirely to provisions for proven risk. Cost of risk/outstandings48 stood at 44 basis points, an improvement of 6 basis points compared with the second quarter of 2024. The Non Performing Loans ratio improved compared with the first quarter of 2024 to stand at 3.0%, while the coverage ratio was 73.6% (+1.2 percentage points compared with the second quarter of 2024). Net income Group share for CA Italy was €164 million, down -1.3% compared with the third quarter of 2023.

    In the first nine months of 2024, revenues for Crédit Agricole Italy rose slightly by +0.8% to €2,323 million. Expenses excluding SRF and DGS (deposit guarantee fund in Italy) were under control at €1,161 million, a slight decrease of -0.2% compared with the first nine months of 2023. Gross operating income stood at €1,105 million, a slight increase of +0.3% compared with the first nine months of 2023. Cost of risk amounted to -€170 million, down -27.2% compared with the first nine months of 2023. As a result, CA Italy’s net income Group share totalled €497 million, an increase of +4.4% compared with the first nine months of 2023.

    CA Italy’s underlying RoNE (return on normalised equity) was 22.6% at 30 September 2024.

    International Retail Banking results – excluding Italy

    In the third quarter of 2024, revenues for International Retail Banking excluding Italy totalled €242 million, up +0.4% (+14.8% at constant exchange rates) compared with the third quarter of 2023. Revenues in Poland were up +22.2% compared with the third quarter of 2023 (+16.1% at constant exchange rates), boosted by a higher net interest margin and a strong upwards trend in fee and commission income. Revenues in Egypt were down (-19.9% compared with the third quarter of 2023) due to foreign exchange rate movements (depreciation of the Egyptian pound), but were particularly buoyant at constant exchange rates (+32.7%), benefiting from a sharp increase in the interest margin. Operating expenses for International Retail Banking excluding Italy amounted to €122 million, up +11.0% compared with the third quarter of 2023 (+17.8% at constant exchange rates). Gross operating income amounted to €120 million, a decrease of -8.5% (+11.8% at constant exchange rates) compared with the third quarter of 2023. Cost of risk amounted to -€11 million, down -68.9% (-68.9% at constant exchange rates). Furthermore, at end-September 2024, the coverage ratio for loan outstandings remained high in Poland and Egypt, at 121% and 139% respectively. In Ukraine, the local coverage ratio remains prudent (335%). All in all, the contribution of International Retail Banking excluding Italy to net income Group share was €30 million, down 49.1% compared with the third quarter of 2023.

    In the first nine months of 2024, revenues for International Retail Banking excluding Italy totalled €767 million, up +14.3% (+25.0% at constant exchange rates) compared with the first nine months of 2023, driven by the increase in net interest margin. Operating expenses amounted to -€361 million, up +10.2% compared with the first nine months of 2023 (+12.8% at constant exchange rates). The cost/income ratio at end-September 2024 was 47.1% (an improvement of 1.8 points on the cost/income ratio at end-September 2023). Thanks to strong growth in revenues, gross operating income came to €406 million, up 18.3% (+38.4% at constant exchange rates) from the first nine months of 2023. Cost of risk amounted to -€43 million, down -66.4% (-65.8% at constant exchange rates) compared with the first nine months of 2023. All in all, International Retail Banking excluding Italy contributed €182 million to net income Group share.

    The underlying RoNE (return on normalised equity) of Other IRB (excluding CA Italy) stood at 33.0% at 30 September 2024.

    At 30 September 2024, the entire Retail Banking business line contributed 22% to the underlying net income Group share of Crédit Agricole S.A.’s core businesses (excluding the Corporate Centre division) and 29% to underlying revenues excluding the Corporate Centre.

    At 30 September 2024, the division’s equity amounted to €9.7 billion. Its risk-weighted assets totalled €101.6 billion.

    Corporate Centre results

    The net income Group share of the Corporate Centre was -€161 million in the third quarter of 2024, down -€106 million compared with the third quarter of 2023. The negative contribution of the Corporate Centre division can be analysed by distinguishing between the “structural” contribution (-€161 million) and other items (+€1 million).
    The contribution of the “structural” component (-€161 million) decreased by -€138 million compared with the third quarter of 2023 and can be broken down into three types of activity:

    • The activities and functions of the Corporate Centre of the Crédit Agricole S.A. Parent Company. This contribution amounted to -€140 million in the third quarter of 2024, down -€75 million, notably due to a base effect of -€171 million related to reversals of provisions for Home Purchase Saving Plans recorded in the third quarter of 2023.
    • The business lines that are not part of the core businesses, such as CACIF (private equity), CA Immobilier, CATE and BforBank (equity-accounted). They contributed -€28 million in the third quarter of 2024, down -€65 million from the third quarter of 2023. This was due to the unfavourable impact of the revaluation of Banco BPM securities for -€35 million (+€5 million in the third quarter of 2024, against +€40 million in the third quarter of 2023), as well as a deterioration in the portfolio which pushed up the cost of potential risk (stages 1 and 2), particularly on financing guaranteed by Foncaris49
    • Group support functions. Their contribution amounted to +€7 million this quarter (+€3 million compared with the third quarter of 2023).

    The contribution of “other items” was up +€32 million compared with the third quarter of 2023.
    The “internal margins” effect at the time of the consolidation of the insurance activity at the Crédit Agricole level was accounted for through the Corporate Centre. Over the quarter, the impact of internal margins was -€211 million in revenues and +€211 million in expenses.

    In the first nine months of 2024, underlying net income Group share of the Corporate Centre division was -€506 million, down -€131 million compared with the first nine months of 2023. The structural component contributed -€513 million and other items of the division recorded a positive contribution of +€7 million in the first nine months.
    The “structural” component contribution was down -€2 million compared with the first nine months of 2023. It can be broken down into three types of activities:

    • The activities and functions of the Corporate Centre of the Crédit Agricole S.A. Parent Company. This contribution amounted to -€767 million in the first nine months of 2024, down -€55 million compared with the first nine months of 2023, including a base effect of -€171 million related to the reversal of the provision for Home Purchase Saving Plans recorded in the third quarter of 2023;
    • Business lines not attached to the core businesses, such as CACIF (private equity), CA Immobilier and BforBank: their contribution, at +€234 million in the first nine months of 2024, was up on the first nine months of 2023 (+€46 million), primarily due to the end of the SRF building-up period (-€77 million in the first half of 2023), as well as the impact of the valuation and dividend of Banco BPM securities for +€99 million;
    • The Group’s support functions: their contribution for the first nine months of 2024 was +€20 million, up +€7 million compared with the first nine months of 2023.

    The contribution of “other items” was down -€129 million compared with the first nine months of 2023.

    At 30 September 2024, risk-weighted assets stood at €29.6 billion.

    Financial strength

    Crédit Agricole Group

    At 30 September 2024, the phased-in Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of Crédit Agricole Group was 17.4%, an increase of +0.1 percentage point compared with end-June 2024. Therefore, the Crédit Agricole Group posted a substantial buffer of 7.6 percentage points between the level of its CET1 ratio and the 9.8% SREP requirement. The fully loaded CET1 ratio was 17.3%.

    During the third quarter 2024:

    • The CET1 ratio benefited from an impact of +25 basis points related to retained earnings.
    • Changes in risk-weighted assets related to business lines organic growth impacted the Group’s CET1 ratio by -27 basis points (see below).
    • The methodological and other effects have a favourable impact of +4 basis points and include the contribution of the capital increase reserved for employees and a favourable change in unrealised gains and/or losses.

    The phased-in Tier 1 ratio stood at 18.3%, while the phased-in total ratio was 21.0% at end-September 2024.

    The phased-in leverage ratio stood at 5.5%, remaining stable compared with end-June 2024, well above the regulatory requirement of 3.5%.

    Risk-weighted assets for the Crédit Agricole Group amounted to €636 billion, up +€8.2 billion compared with 30 June 2024. The change can be broken down by business line as follows: Retail Banking +€7.3 billion, Asset Gathering +€3.2 billion (including +€3.1 billion in Insurance equity-accounted value), Specialised Financial Services +€0.3 billion, Large Customers -€2.3 billion (benefiting from favourable foreign exchange and regulatory impacts for Crédit Agricole CIB) and Corporate Centre -€0.2 billion.

    Maximum Distributable Amount (MDA and L-MDA) trigger thresholds

    The transposition of Basel regulations into European law (CRD) introduced a restriction mechanism for distribution that applies to dividends, AT1 instruments and variable compensation. The Maximum Distributable Amount (MDA, the maximum sum a bank is allowed to allocate to distributions) principle aims to place limitations on distributions in the event the latter were to result in non-compliance with combined capital buffer requirements.

    The distance to the MDA trigger is the lowest of the respective distances to the SREP requirements in CET1 capital, Tier 1 capital and total capital.

    At 30 September 2024, Crédit Agricole Group posted a buffer of 670 basis points above the MDA trigger, i.e. €43 billion in CET1 capital.

    Failure to comply with the leverage ratio buffer requirement would result in a restriction of distributions and the calculation of a maximum distributable amount (L-MDA).

    At 30 September 2024, Crédit Agricole Group posted a buffer of 196 basis points above the L-MDA trigger, i.e. €42 billion in Tier 1 capital. At the Crédit Agricole Group level, it is the distance to the L-MDA trigger that determines the distance to distribution restriction.

    At 30 September 2024, Crédit Agricole S.A. posted a buffer of 280 basis points above the MDA trigger, i.e. €11 billion in CET1 capital. Crédit Agricole S.A. is not subject to the L-MDA requirement.

    The issuance of a new AT1 instrument carried out by Crédit Agricole S.A. on 2 October 2024, for a nominal amount of US$1.25 billion, has a positive impact of 18 basis points on the Tier 1 and Total capital ratios of Crédit Agricole Group, as well as a positive impact of 5 basis points on its leverage ratio. This issuance also has a positive impact of 28 basis points on the Tier 1 and Total capital ratios of Crédit Agricole S.A. Taking this issuance into account in the solvency ratios at 30 September 2024, Crédit Agricole Group would post a buffer of 688 basis points above the MDA trigger, i.e. €44 billion in CET1 capital, and 201 basis points above the L-MDA trigger, i.e. €43 billion in Tier 1 capital. Crédit Agricole S.A. would post a buffer of 308 basis points above the MDA trigger, i.e. €12 billion in CET1 capital.

    TLAC

    Crédit Agricole Group must comply with the following TLAC ratio requirements at all times:

    • a TLAC ratio above 18% of risk-weighted assets (RWA), plus – in accordance with EU directive CRD 5 – a combined capital buffer requirement (including, for Crédit Agricole Group, a 2.5% capital conservation buffer, a 1% G-SIB buffer, the counter-cyclical buffer set at 0.77% and the 0.01% systemic risk buffer for CA Group at 30 September 2024). Considering the combined capital buffer requirement, Crédit Agricole Group must adhere to a TLAC ratio of above 22.3%;
    • a TLAC ratio of above 6.75% of the Leverage Ratio Exposure (LRE).

    The Crédit Agricole Group’s 2025 target is to maintain a TLAC ratio greater than or equal to 26% of RWA excluding eligible senior preferred debt.

    At 30 September 2024, Crédit Agricole Group’s TLAC ratio stood at 27.3% of RWA and 8.2% of leverage ratio exposure, excluding eligible senior preferred debt50, which is well above the requirements. The TLAC ratio, expressed as a percentage of risk weighted assets, increased by 20 basis points over the quarter, due to equity and eligible items increasing more rapidly than risk-weighted assets over the period. Expressed as a percentage of leverage ratio exposure (LRE), the TLAC ratio was up 20 basis points compared with June 2024.

    The Group thus has a TLAC ratio excluding eligible senior preferred debt that is 510 basis points higher, i.e. €32 billion, than the current requirement of 22.3% of RWA.

    At end-September 2024, €10.4 billion equivalent had been issued in the market (senior non-preferred and Tier 2 debt) as well as €1.25 billion of AT1. The amount of Crédit Agricole Group senior non-preferred securities taken into account in the calculation of the TLAC ratio was €35.2 billion.

    MREL

    The required minimum levels are set by decisions of resolution authorities and then communicated to each institution, then revised periodically. At 30 September 2024, Crédit Agricole Group has to meet a minimum total MREL requirement of:

    • 22.01% of RWA, plus – in accordance with EU directive CRD 5 – a combined capital buffer requirement (including, for Crédit Agricole Group, a 2.5% capital conservation buffer, a 1% G-SIB buffer, the counter-cyclical buffer set at 0.77% and the 0.01% systemic risk buffer for CA Group at 30 September 2024). Considering the combined capital buffer requirement, the Crédit Agricole Group has to meet to a total MREL ratio of above 26.3%;
    • 6.25% of the LRE.

    At 30 September 2024, the Crédit Agricole Group had a total MREL ratio of 32.9% of RWA and 9.8% of leverage exposure, well above the requirement.

    An additional subordination requirement (“subordinated MREL”) is also determined by the resolution authorities and expressed as a percentage of RWA and LRE. At 30 September 2024, this subordinated MREL requirement for the Crédit Agricole Group was:

    • 18.25% of RWA, plus a combined capital buffer requirement. Considering the combined capital buffer requirement, the Crédit Agricole Group has to meet to a subordinated MREL ratio of above 22.5%;
    • 6.25% of leverage exposure.

    At 30 September 2024, Crédit Agricole Group had a subordinated MREL ratio of 27.3% of RWA and 8.2% of leverage exposure, well above the requirement.

    The distance to the maximum distributable amount trigger related to MREL requirements (M-MDA) is the lowest of the respective distances to the MREL, subordinated MREL and TLAC requirements expressed in RWA.

    At 30 September 2024, Crédit Agricole Group had a buffer of 480 basis points above the M-MDA trigger, i.e. €31 billion in CET1 capital; the distance to the M-MDA trigger corresponds to the distance between the subordinated MREL ratio and the corresponding requirement.

    Crédit Agricole S.A.

    At 30 September 2024, Crédit Agricole S.A.’s solvency ratio was higher than the Medium-Term Plan target, with a phased-in Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 11.7%, up +0.1 percentage point from end-June 2024. Crédit Agricole S.A. therefore had a comfortable buffer of 3.1 percentage points between the level of its CET1 ratio and the 8.6% SREP requirement. The fully loaded CET1 ratio was 11.7%.

    During the third quarter 2024:

    • The CET1 ratio benefited this quarter from a positive impact of +19 basis points linked to retained earnings. This impact corresponds to net income Group share net of AT1 coupons (impact of +38 basis points) and of the distribution of 50% of earnings, i.e. a provision for dividends of 25 euro cents per share in third quarter 2024 (-19 basis points).
    • Changes in risk-weighted assets related to business line organic growth impacted the CET1 ratio by
      -14 basis points, of which -5 basis points in the Insurance business line (increase in the equity-accounted value over the quarter).
    • Methodological and other effects had a positive impact of +10 basis points and included the contribution of the capital increase reserved for employees and a favourable trend in unrealised gains and/or losses.

    The phased-in leverage ratio was 3.8% at end-September 2024, stable compared to end-June 2024 and above the 3% requirement.

    The phased-in Tier 1 ratio stood at 13.2% and the phased-in total ratio at 17.3% this quarter.

    Risk weighted assets for Crédit Agricole S.A. amounted to €402 billion at end of September 2024, up by +€3.1 billion compared to 30 June 2024. The change can be broken down by core business line as follows:

    • The Retail Banking divisions showed an increase of +€1.7 billion, particularly in France.
    • Asset Gathering posted an increase of +€3.2 billion, including +€3.1 billion in RWA for Insurance (increase in the equity-accounted value in the third quarter of 2024).
    • Specialised Financial Services remained stable at +€0.2 billion.
    • Large Customers recorded a decrease in risk-weighted assets of -€2.4 billion over the quarter, mainly as a result of foreign exchange and regulatory impacts in CIB.
    • The Corporate Centre divisions posted an increase in risk-weighted assets of +€0.4 billion.

    Liquidity and Funding

    Liquidity is measured at Crédit Agricole Group level.

    In order to provide simple, relevant and auditable information on the Group’s liquidity position, the banking cash balance sheet’s stable resources surplus is calculated quarterly.

    The banking cash balance sheet is derived from Crédit Agricole Group’s IFRS financial statements. It is based on the definition of a mapping table between the Group’s IFRS financial statements and the sections of the cash balance sheet and whose definition is commonly accepted in the marketplace. It relates to the banking scope, with insurance activities being managed in accordance with their own specific regulatory constraints.

    Further to the breakdown of the IFRS financial statements in the sections of the cash balance sheet, netting calculations are carried out. They relate to certain assets and liabilities that have a symmetrical impact in terms of liquidity risk. Deferred taxes, fair value impacts, collective impairments, short-selling transactions and other assets and liabilities were netted for a total of €68 billion at end-September 2024. Similarly, €157 billion in repos/reverse repos were eliminated insofar as these outstandings reflect the activity of the securities desk carrying out securities borrowing and lending operations that offset each other. Other nettings calculated in order to build the cash balance sheet – for an amount totalling €181 billion at end September 2024 – relate to derivatives, margin calls, adjustment/settlement/liaison accounts and to non-liquid securities held by Corporate and Investment banking (CIB) and are included in the “Customer-related trading assets” section.

    Note that deposits centralised with Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations are not netted in order to build the cash balance sheet; the amount of centralised deposits (€105 billion at end-September 2024) is booked to assets under “Customer-related trading assets” and to liabilities under “Customer-related funds”.

    In a final stage, other restatements reassign outstandings that accounting standards allocate to one section, when they are economically related to another. As such, Senior issuances placed through the banking networks as well as financing by the European Investment Bank, the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and other refinancing transactions of the same type backed by customer loans, which accounting standards would classify as “Medium long-term market funds”, are reclassified as “Customer-related funds”.

    Medium to long-term repurchase agreements are also included in “Long-term market funds”.

    Finally, the CIB’s counterparties that are banks with which we have a commercial relationship are considered as customers in the construction of the cash balance sheet.

    Standing at €1,719 billion at 30 September 2024, the Group’s banking cash balance sheet shows a surplus of stable funding resources over stable application of funds of €188 billion, down -€10 billion compared with end-June 2024.

    Total T-LTRO 3 outstandings for Crédit Agricole Group amounted to €0.7 billion at 30 September 2024.

    Furthermore, given the excess liquidity, the Group remained in a short-term lending position at 30 September 2024 (central bank deposits exceeding the amount of short-term net debt).

    Medium-to-long-term market resources were €263 billion at 30 September 2024, up slightly from end-June 2024.

    They included senior secured debt of €76 billion, senior preferred debt of €125 billion, senior non-preferred debt of €37 billion and Tier 2 securities amounting to €25 billion.

    The Group’s liquidity reserves, at market value and after haircuts, amounted to €466 billion at 30 September 2024, down -€12 billion compared to 30 June 2024.

    They covered short-term net debt more than two times over (excluding the replacements with Central Banks).

    The decrease in liquidity reserves was mainly due to:

    • The decrease in Central Bank deposits for -€15 billion;
    • The decrease in eligible claims to Central Bank (mainly due to the temporary removal of TRICP credit claims with an internal rating) for -€3 billion;
    • The increase in the securities portfolio for +€6 billion (+€3 billion of HQLA securities/+€3 billion of non-HQLA securities).

    Crédit Agricole Group also continued its efforts to maintain immediately available reserves (after recourse to ECB financing). Central bank eligible non-HQLA assets after haircuts amounted to €152 billion.

    Credit institutions are subject to a threshold for the LCR ratio, set at 100% on 1 January 2018.

    At 30 September 2024, the end of month LCR ratios were 147% for Crédit Agricole Group (representing a surplus of €97.7 billion) and 152% for Crédit Agricole S.A. (representing a surplus of €92.2 billion). They were higher than the Medium-Term Plan target (around 110%).

    In addition, the NSFR of Crédit Agricole Group and Crédit Agricole S.A. exceeded 100%, in accordance with the regulatory requirement applicable since 28 June 2021 and above the Medium-Term Plan target (>100%).

    The Group continues to follow a prudent policy as regards medium-to-long-term refinancing, with a very diversified access to markets in terms of investor base and products.

    At 30 September 2024, the Group’s main issuers raised the equivalent of €51 billion51,52in medium-to-long-term debt on the markets, 47% of which was issued by Crédit Agricole S.A. In particular, the following amounts are noted for the Group:

    • Crédit Agricole CIB issued €17.9 billion in structured format, including €1.2 billion in Green Bond format;
    • Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility issued €2 billion equivalent in EMTN issuances through Crédit Agricole Auto Bank (CAAB) and €0.7 billion equivalent in securitisations;
    • CA Italy issued two senior secured debt issuances for a total of €1.5 billion, of which €500 million in Green Bond format;
    • Crédit Agricole next bank (Switzerland) issued two tranches in senior secured format for a total of 200 million Swiss francs, of which 100 million Swiss francs in Green Bond format;
    • Crédit Agricole Assurances issued a €750 million Tier 2 10-year bullet subordinated bond and made a tender offer on two subordinated perpetual issuances (FR0012444750 & FR0012222297) for €788.5 million in September.

    The Group’s medium-to-long-term financing can be broken down into the following categories:

    • €9.0 billion in secured financing;
    • €22.0 billion in plain-vanilla unsecured financing;
    • €17.9 billion in structured financing;
    • €2.3 billion in long-term institutional deposits and CDs.

    In addition, €11.7 billion was raised through off-market issuances, split as follows:

    • €9.5 billion from banking networks (the Group’s retail banking or external networks);
    • €0.65 billion from supranational organisations or financial institutions;
    • €1.6 billion from national refinancing vehicles (including the credit institution CRH).

    At 30 September 2024, Crédit Agricole S.A. raised the equivalent of €24.1 billion on the market53,54representing 93% of its 2024 refinancing programme:

    The bank raised the equivalent of €24.1 billion, of which €7.3 billion in senior non-preferred debt and €3.1 billion in Tier 2 debt, as well as €7.2 billion in senior preferred debt and €6.5 billion in senior secured debt at end-September. The financing comprised a variety of formats and currencies, including:

    • €6.3 billion55;
    • 6.35 billion US dollars (€5.8 billion equivalent);
    • 1.1 billion pounds sterling (€1.3 billion equivalent);
    • 230 billion Japanese yen (€1.4 billion equivalent);
    • 0.8 billion Swiss francs (€0.8 billion equivalent);
    • 1.75 billion Australian dollars (€1.1 billion equivalent);
    • 7 billion renminbi (€0.9 billion equivalent).

    At end-September, Crédit Agricole S.A. had issued 64% of its funding plan in currencies other than the euro56,57.

    In addition, on 2 January 2024, Crédit Agricole S.A. issued a PerpNC6 AT1 bond for €1.25 billion at an initial rate of 6.5% and, on 24 September 2024, a PerpNC10 AT1 bond for $1.25 billion at an initial rate of 6.7%.

    Appendix 1 – Specific items, Crédit Agricole Group et Crédit Agricole S.A.

    Crédit Agricole Group – Specific items

      Q3-24 Q3-23 9M-24 9M-23
    €m Gross
    impact*
    Impact on
    Net income
    Gross
    impact*
    Impact on
    Net income
    Gross
    impact*
    Impact on
    Net income
    Gross
    impact*
    Impact on
    Net income
                     
    DVA (LC) 4 3 2 2 46 34 (21) (15)
    Loan portfolio hedges (LC) (1) (1) (2) (1) 6 5 (26) (19)
    Home Purchase Savings Plans (LCL) 52 38 1 1 52 38
    Home Purchase Savings Plans (CC) 230 171 (0) (0) 230 171
    Home Purchase Savings Plans (RB) 118 88 63 47 118 88
    Mobility activities reorganisation (SFS) 1 0 300 214
    Check Image Exchange penalty (CC) 42 42
    Check Image Exchange penalty (LCL) 21 21
    Check Image Exchange penalty (RB) 42 42
    Total impact on revenues 3 2 402 298 117 87 758 581
    Degroof Petercam integration costs (AG) (8) (6) (14) (10)
    ISB integration costs (LC) (26) (14) (70) (37)
    Mobility activities reorganisation (SFS) (18) (13)
    Total impact on operating expenses (34) (20) (84) (47) (18) (13)
    Mobility activities reorganisation (SFS) (85) (61)
    Provision for risk Ukraine (IRB) (20) (20)
    Total impact on cost of credit risk (20) (20) (85) (61)
    Mobility activities reorganisation (SFS) (26) (26) (39) (39)
    Total impact equity-accounted entities (26) (26) (39) (39)
    Degroof Petercam aquisition costs (AG) (3) (2) (23) (17)
    Mobility activities reorganisation (SFS) 61 45 89 57
    Total impact on Net income on other assets (3) (2) 61 45 (23) (17) 89 57
                     
    Total impact of specific items (34) (20) 436 317 (10) 3 705 525
    Asset gathering (11) (8) (37) (27)
    French Retail banking 170 126 65 48 233 189
    International Retail banking (20) (20)
    Specialised financial services 35 19 247 159
    Large customers (23) (12) 1 0 (18) 1 (47) (35)
    Corporate centre 230 171 (0) (0) 272 213
    * Impact before tax and before minority interests                

    Crédit Agricole S.A. – Specific Items

      Q3-24 Q3-23 9M-24 9M-23
    €m Gross
    impact*
    Impact on
    Net income
    Gross
    impact*
    Impact on
    Net income
    Gross
    impact*
    Impact on
    Net income
    Gross
    impact*
    Impact on
    Net income
                     
    DVA (LC) 4 3 2 2 46 33 (21) (15)
    Loan portfolio hedges (LC) (1) (1) (2) (1) 6 5 (26) (19)
    Home Purchase Savings Plans (FRB) 52 37 3 2 52 37
    Home Purchase Savings Plans (CC) 230 171 (2) (1) 230 171
    Mobility activities reorganisation (SFS) 1 0.5 300 214
    Check Image Exchange penalty (CC) 42 42
    Check Image Exchange penalty (LCL) 21 20
    Total impact on revenues 3 2 284 209 53 39 598 450
    Degroof Petercam integration costs (AG) (8) (6) (14) (10)
    ISB integration costs (LC) (26) (14) (70) (37)
    Mobility activities reorganisation (SFS) (18) (13)
    Total impact on operating expenses (34) (19) (84) (47) (18) (13)
    Provision for risk Ukraine (IRB) (20) (20)
    Mobility activities reorganisation (SFS) (85) (61)
    Total impact on cost of credit risk (20) (20) (85) (61)
                     
    Mobility activities reorganisation (SFS) (26) (26) (39) (39)
    Total impact equity-accounted entities (26) (26) (39) (39)
    Degroof Petercam aquisition costs (AG) (3) (2) (23) (17)
    Mobility activities reorganisation (SFS) 61 45 89 57
    Total impact Net income on other assets (3) (2) 61 45 (23) (17) 89 57
                     
    Total impact of specific items (34) (20) 318 227 (73) (45) 545 394
    Asset gathering (11) (8) (37) (26)
    French Retail banking 52 37 3 2 73 57
    International Retail banking (20) (20)
    Specialised financial services 35 19 247 159
    Large customers (23) (12) 1 0 (18) 1 (47) (34)
    Corporate centre 230 171 (2) (1) 272 213
    * Impact before tax and before minority interests          

    Appendix 2 – Crédit Agricole Group: income statement by business line

    Crédit Agricole Group – Results by business line, Q3-23 and Q3-24

      Q3-24 (stated)
    €m RB LCL IRB AG SFS LC CC Total
                     
    Revenues 3,266 979 1,029 1,857 869 2,054 (842) 9,213
    Operating expenses excl. SRF (2,409) (608) (539) (868) (437) (1,240) 511 (5,590)
    SRF
    Gross operating income 857 371 490 989 433 814 (331) 3,623
    Cost of risk (364) (82) (60) (13) (223) (19) (40) (801)
    Equity-accounted entities 0 33 23 6 61
    Net income on other assets 0 0 0 (3) (2) (0) (2) (5)
    Income before tax 493 290 430 1,006 231 801 (372) 2,877
    Tax (122) (66) (176) (156) (42) (234) 210 (587)
    Net income from discont’d or held-for-sale ope.
    Net income 371 224 254 850 189 566 (162) 2,291
    Non controlling interests (1) (0) (40) (128) (17) (35) 10 (211)
    Net income Group Share 371 223 214 722 172 531 (153) 2,080
      Q3-23 (stated)
    €m RB LCL IRB AG SFS LC CC Total
                     
    Revenues 3,345 996 1,046 1,657 883 1,888 (567) 9,249
    Operating expenses excl. SRF (2,328) (589) (522) (718) (424) (1,139) 454 (5,265)
    SRF
    Gross operating income 1,018 407 524 939 460 749 (113) 3,984
    Cost of risk (254) (70) (126) (0) (224) (13) (6) (693)
    Equity-accounted entities 1 1 24 5 6 0 37
    Net income on other assets 0 18 1 (5) 57 (2) (0) 69
    Income before tax 765 355 400 958 298 740 (119) 3,397
    Tax (178) (79) (118) (221) (77) (203) 65 (810)
    Net income from discont’d or held-for-sale ope. (0) 2 (0) 2
    Net income 587 277 284 737 220 537 (53) 2,588
    Non controlling interests (0) (0) (42) (110) (17) (39) 4 (204)
    Net income Group Share 587 277 242 628 204 497 (49) 2,384

    Crédit Agricole Group – Results by business line, 9M-24 et 9M-23

      9M-24 (stated)
    €m RB LCL IRB AG SFS LC CC Total
                     
    Revenues 9,834 2,912 3,161 5,596 2,605 6,544 (2,407) 28,244
    Operating expenses excl. SRF (7,453) (1,801) (1,637) (2,435) (1,333) (3,741) 1,535 (16,866)
    SRF
    Gross operating income 2,381 1,111 1,523 3,161 1,272 2,803 (872) 11,378
    Cost of risk (1,056) (295) (219) (18) (653) (25) (59) (2,324)
    Equity-accounted entities 7 94 83 20 203
    Net income on other assets 3 5 0 (23) (3) 2 (3) (19)
    Income before tax 1,335 820 1,305 3,214 699 2,800 (935) 9,238
    Tax (313) (185) (436) (658) (138) (717) 343 (2,104)
    Net income from discontinued or held-for-sale operations
    Net income 1,022 635 869 2,557 560 2,083 (592) 7,134
    Non controlling interests (1) (0) (129) (364) (59) (104) 15 (643)
    Net income Group Share 1,021 635 739 2,193 502 1,979 (577) 6,491
      9M-23 (stated)
    €m RB LCL IRB AG SFS LC CC Total
                     
    Revenues 10,032 2,891 3,040 5,144 2,717 5,844 (1,946) 27,722
    Operating expenses excl. SRF (7,217) (1,742) (1,542) (2,148) (1,224) (3,298) 1,389 (15,782)
    SRF (111) (44) (40) (6) (29) (312) (77) (620)
    Gross operating income 2,704 1,105 1,458 2,989 1,465 2,234 (634) 11,321
    Cost of risk (831) (205) (366) (1) (686) (81) (8) (2,179)
    Equity-accounted entities 9 1 73 90 17 190
    Net income on other assets 6 21 1 (5) 81 3 (1) 107
    Income before tax 1,887 921 1,095 3,057 950 2,173 (643) 9,438
    Tax (467) (217) (321) (696) (254) (561) 222 (2,293)
    Net income from discontinued or held-for-sale operations (0) 7 1 (0) 7
    Net income 1,421 704 781 2,361 696 1,612 (421) 7,153
    Non controlling interests (1) (0) (121) (343) (61) (93) (0) (619)
    Net income Group Share 1,420 704 660 2,018 635 1,519 (421) 6,534

    Appendix 3 – Crédit Agricole S.A.:   Results by business line

    Crédit Agricole S.A. – Results by business line, Q3-24 et Q3-23

      Q3-24 (stated)
    €m AG LC SFS FRB (LCL) IRB CC Total
                   
    Revenues 1,870 2,054 869 979 1,006 (290) 6,487
    Operating expenses excl. SRF (868) (1,240) (437) (608) (519) (17) (3,689)
    SRF
    Gross operating income 1,002 814 433 371 486 (307) 2,799
    Cost of risk (13) (19) (223) (82) (59) (37) (433)
    Equity-accounted entities 33 6 23 (19) 42
    Net income on other assets (3) (0) (2) 0 0 0 (4)
    Income before tax 1,019 800 231 290 427 (363) 2,404
    Tax (157) (234) (42) (66) (176) 199 (476)
    Net income from discontinued or held-for-sale operations
    Net income 862 566 189 224 252 (164) 1,928
    Non controlling interests (135) (46) (17) (10) (58) 4 (262)
    Net income Group Share 728 520 172 214 194 (161) 1,666
      Q3-23 (stated)
    €m AG LC SFS FRB (LCL) IRB CC Total
                   
    Revenues 1,656 1,888 883 996 1,024 (103) 6,343
    Operating expenses excl. SRF (718) (1,139) (424) (589) (504) (2) (3,376)
    SRF
    Gross operating income 937 748 460 407 520 (105) 2,967
    Cost of risk (0) (13) (224) (70) (121) (2) (429)
    Equity-accounted entities 24 6 5 1 (12) 23
    Net income on other assets (5) (2) 57 18 1 (0) 69
    Income before tax 956 739 298 355 401 (119) 2,630
    Tax (221) (203) (77) (79) (118) 65 (633)
    Net income from discontinued or held-for-sale operations (0) 2 2
    Net income 736 536 220 277 285 (55) 1,999
    Non controlling interests (114) (48) (17) (12) (60) 0 (251)
    Net income Group Share 621 488 204 264 225 (55) 1,748

    Crédit Agricole S.A. – Results by business line, 9M-24 et 9M-23

      9M-24 (stated)
    €m AG LC SFS FRB (LCL) IRB CC Total
                   
    Revenues 5,603 6,543 2,605 2,912 3,090 (665) 20,089
    Operating expenses excl. SRF (2,435) (3,741) (1,333) (1,801) (1,580) (88) (10,978)
    SRF
    Gross operating income 3,168 2,802 1,272 1,111 1,510 (752) 9,111
    Cost of risk (18) (25) (653) (295) (213) (53) (1,256)
    Equity-accounted entities 94 20 83 (65) 132
    Net income on other assets (23) 2 (3) 5 0 24 5
    Change in value of goodwill
    Income before tax 3,221 2,800 699 820 1,297 (846) 7,991
    Tax (659) (717) (138) (185) (435) 343 (1,790)
    Net income from discontinued or held-for-sale operations
    Net income 2,563 2,083 560 635 862 (503) 6,201
    Non controlling interests (382) (147) (59) (28) (184) (3) (803)
    Net income Group Share 2,180 1,936 502 607 678 (506) 5,397
      9M-23 (stated)
    €m AG LC SFS FRB (LCL) IRB CC Total
                   
    Revenues 5,133 5,844 2,717 2,891 2,975 (421) 19,140
    Operating expenses excl. SRF (2,148) (3,298) (1,224) (1,742) (1,491) (20) (9,922)
    SRF (6) (312) (29) (44) (40) (77) (509)
    Gross operating income 2,979 2,234 1,465 1,105 1,444 (519) 8,709
    Cost of risk (1) (81) (686) (205) (362) (2) (1,338)
    Equity-accounted entities 73 17 90 2 (45) 136
    Net income on other assets (5) 3 81 21 1 (0) 102
    Change in value of goodwill
    Income before tax 3,047 2,173 950 921 1,085 (566) 7,609
    Tax (699) (561) (254) (217) (320) 218 (1,832)
    Net income from discontinued or held-for-sale operations 1 (0) 7 7
    Net income 2,349 1,612 696 704 772 (348) 5,785
    Non controlling interests (353) (125) (61) (31) (172) (27) (771)
    Net income Group Share 1,996 1,486 635 673 600 (375) 5,014

    Appendix 4 – Data per share

    Crédit Agricole S.A. – Earnings p/share, net book value p/share and RoTE
    (€m)   Q3-2024 Q3-2023   9M-24 9M-23
                 
    Net income Group share – stated   1,666 1,748   5,397 5,014
    – Interests on AT1, including issuance costs, before tax   (130) (136)   (351) (371)
    – Foreign exchange impact on reimbursed AT1   (19)   (266)
    NIGS attributable to ordinary shares – stated [A] 1,517 1,612   4,780 4,643
    Average number shares in issue, excluding treasury shares (m) [B] 3,031 3,043   3,007 3,031
    Net earnings per share – stated [A]/[B] 0.50 € 0.53 €   1.59 € 1.53 €
    Underlying net income Group share (NIGS)   1,686 1,520   5,442 4,620
    Underlying NIGS attributable to ordinary shares [C] 1,537 1,384   4,825 4,249
    Net earnings per share – underlying [C]/[B] 0.51 € 0.46 €   1.60 € 1.40 €
                 
                 
    (€m)         30/09/2024 30/09/2023
    Shareholder’s equity Group share         71,386 69,416
    – AT1 issuances         (6,102) (7,235)
    – Unrealised gains and losses on OCI – Group share         1,042 1,644
    Net book value (NBV), not revaluated, attributable to ordin. sh. [D]       66,326 63,825
    – Goodwill & intangibles* – Group share         (17,778) (17,255)
    Tangible NBV (TNBV), not revaluated attrib. to ordinary sh. [E]       48,548 46,570
    Total shares in issue, excluding treasury shares (period end, m) [F]       3,040 3,052
    NBV per share , after deduction of dividend to pay (€) [D]/[F]       21.8 € 20.9 €
    TNBV per share, after deduction of dividend to pay (€) [G]=[E]/[F]       16.0 € 15.3 €
    * including goodwill in the equity-accounted entities            
                 
    (€m)         9M-24 9M-23
    Net income Group share – stated [K]       5,397 5,014
    Impairment of intangible assets [L]       0 0
    IFRIC [M]       -110 -542
    Stated NIGS annualised [N] = ([K]-[L]-[M])*2+[M]       7,233 6,866
    Interests on AT1, including issuance costs, before tax, foreign exchange impact, annualised [O]       -734 -495
    Stated result adjusted [P] = [N]+[O]       6,499 6,371
    Tangible NBV (TNBV), not revaluated attrib. to ord. sh. – avg *** (3) [J]       45,219 43,200
    Stated ROTE adjusted (%) = [P] / [J]       14.4% 14.7%
    Underlying Net income Group share [Q]       5,442 4,620
    Underlying NIGS annualised [R] = ([Q]-[M])*2+[M]       7,293 6,341
    Underlying NIGS adjusted [S] = [R]+[O]       6,559 5,846
    Underlying ROTE adjusted(%) = [S] / [J]       14.5% 13.5%
    *** including assumption of dividend for the current exercise         0.0%

    (1) Underlying: see appendixes for more details on specific items
    (2) Underlying ROTE calculated on the basis of an annualised underlying net income Group share and linearised IFRIC costs over the year
    (3) Average of the NTBV not revalued attributable to ordinary shares, calculated between 31/12/2023 and 30/09/2024 (line [E]), restated with an assumption of dividend for current exercises

    Alternative Performance Indicators58

    NBV Net Book Value (not revalued)
    The Net Book Value not revalued corresponds to the shareholders’ equity Group share from which the amount of the AT1 issues, the unrealised gains and/or losses on OCI Group share and the pay-out assumption on annual results have been deducted.

    NBV per share Net Book Value per share – NTBV Net Tangible Book Value per share
    One of the methods for calculating the value of a share. This represents the Net Book Value divided by the number of shares in issue at end of period, excluding treasury shares.

    Net Tangible Book Value per share represents the Net Book Value after deduction of intangible assets and goodwill, divided by the number of shares in issue at end of period, excluding treasury shares.

    EPS Earnings per Share
    This is the net income Group share, from which the AT1 coupon has been deducted, divided by the average number of shares in issue excluding treasury shares. It indicates the portion of profit attributable to each share (not the portion of earnings paid out to each shareholder, which is the dividend). It may decrease, assuming the net income Group share remains unchanged, if the number of shares increases.

    Cost/income ratio
    The cost/income ratio is calculated by dividing operating expenses by revenues, indicating the proportion of revenues needed to cover operating expenses.

    Cost of risk/outstandings
    Calculated by dividing the cost of credit risk (over four quarters on a rolling basis) by outstandings (over an average of the past four quarters, beginning of the period). It can also be calculated by dividing the annualised cost of credit risk for the quarter by outstandings at the beginning of the quarter. Similarly, the cost of risk for the period can be annualised and divided by the average outstandings at the beginning of the period.

    Since the first quarter of 2019, the outstandings taken into account are the customer outstandings, before allocations to provisions.

    The calculation method for the indicator is specified each time the indicator is used.

    Doubtful loan
    A doubtful loan is a loan in default. The debtor is considered to be in default when at least one of the following two conditions has been met:

    • a payment generally more than 90 days past due, unless specific circumstances point to the fact that the delay is due to reasons independent of the debtor’s financial situation.
    • the entity believes that the debtor is unlikely to settle its credit obligations unless it avails itself of certain measures such as enforcement of collateral security right.

    Impaired loan
    Loan which has been provisioned due to a risk of non-repayment.

    MREL
    The MREL (Minimum Requirement for Own Funds and Eligible Liabilities) ratio is defined in the European “Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive” (BRRD). This Directive establishes a framework for the resolution of banks throughout the European Union, with the aim to provide resolution authorities with shared instruments and powers to pre-emptively tackle banking crises, preserve financial stability and reduce taxpayers’ exposure to losses. Directive (EU) 2019/879 of 20 May 2019 known as “BRRD2” amended the BRRD and was transposed into French law by Order 2020-1636 of 21 December 2020.

    The MREL ratio corresponds to an own funds and eligible liabilities buffer required to absorb losses in the event of resolution. Under BRRD2, the MREL ratio is calculated as the amount of eligible capital and liabilities expressed as a percentage of risk weighted assets (RWA), as well as a leverage ratio exposure (LRE). Are eligible for the numerator of the total MREL ratio the Group’s regulatory capital, as well as eligible liabilities issued by the corporate centre and the Crédit Agricole network affiliated entities, i.e. subordinated notes, senior non-preferred debt instruments and certain senior preferred debt instruments with residual maturities of more than one year.

    Impaired (or non-performing) loan coverage ratio 
    This ratio divides the outstanding provisions by the impaired gross customer loans.

    Impaired (or non-performing) loan ratio 
    This ratio divides the impaired gross customer loans on an individual basis, before provisions, by the total gross customer loans.

    TLAC
    The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has defined the calculation of a ratio aimed at estimating the adequacy of the bail-in and recapitalisation capacity of Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs). This Total Loss Absorbing Capacity (TLAC) ratio provides resolution authorities with the means to assess whether G-SIBs have sufficient bail-in and recapitalisation capacity before and during resolution. It applies to Global Systemically Important Banks, and therefore to Crédit Agricole Group. Agricole. The TLAC ratio requirement was transposed into European Union law via CRR2 and has been applicable since 27 June 2019.

    The Group’s regulatory capital as well as subordinated notes and eligible senior non-preferred debt with residual maturities of more than one year issued by Crédit Agricole S.A. are eligible for the numerator of the TLAC ratio.

    Net income Group share
    Net income/(loss) for the financial year (after corporate income tax). Equal to net income Group share, less the share attributable to non-controlling interests in fully consolidated subsidiaries.

    Underlying Net income Group share
    The underlying net income Group share represents the stated net income Group share from which specific items have been deducted (i.e., non-recurring or exceptional items) to facilitate the understanding of the company’s actual earnings.

    Net income Group share attributable to ordinary shares
    The net income Group share attributable to ordinary shares represents the net income Group share from which the AT1 coupon has been deducted, including issuance costs before tax.

    RoTE Return on Tangible Equity
    The RoTE (Return on Tangible Equity) measures the return on tangible capital by dividing the Net income Group share annualised by the Group’s NBV net of intangibles and goodwill. The annualised Net income Group share corresponds to the annualisation of the Net income Group share (Q1x4; H1x2; 9Mx4/3) excluding impairments of intangible assets and restating each period of the IFRIC impacts in order to linearise them over the year.

    Disclaimer

    The financial information on Crédit Agricole S.A. and Crédit Agricole Group for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2024 comprises this presentation and the attached appendices and press release which are available on the website: https://www.credit-agricole.com/en/finance/financial-publications.

    This presentation may include prospective information on the Group, supplied as information on trends. This data does not represent forecasts within the meaning of EU Delegated Act 2019/980 of 14 March 2019 (Chapter 1, article 1, d).

    This information was developed from scenarios based on a number of economic assumptions for a given competitive and regulatory environment. Therefore, these assumptions are by nature subject to random factors that could cause actual results to differ from projections. Likewise, the financial statements are based on estimates, particularly in calculating market value and asset impairment.

    Readers must take all these risk factors and uncertainties into consideration before making their own judgement.

    Applicable standards and comparability

    The figures presented for the nine-month period ending 30 September 2024 have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted in the European Union and applicable at that date, and with prudential regulations currently in force. This financial information does not constitute a set of financial statements for an interim period as defined by IAS 34 “Interim Financial Reporting” and has not been audited.

    Note: The scopes of consolidation of the Crédit Agricole S.A. and Crédit Agricole Groups have not changed materially since the Crédit Agricole S.A. 2023 Universal Registration Document and its A.01 update (including all regulatory information about the Crédit Agricole Group) were filed with the AMF (the French Financial Markets Authority).

    The sum of values contained in the tables and analyses may differ slightly from the total reported due to rounding.

    At 30 June 2024, Indosuez Wealth Management had completed the acquisition of Degroof Petercam and now holds 65% of Banque Degroof Petercam alongside with CLdN Cobelfret, its historical shareholder, which would maintain a 20% stake in capital. As of 30 September 2024, Indosuez Wealth Management’s stake in Degroof Petercam has increased to 76%.

    At 30 June 2024, Amundi had completed the acquisition of Alpha Associates, an independent asset manager offering multi-management investment solutions in private assets.

    Financial Agenda

    05 February 2025        Publication of the 2024 fourth quarter and full year results
    30 April 2025                Publication of the 2025 first quarter results
    14 May 2025                General Meeting
    31 July 2025                Publication of the 2025 second quarter and the first half-year results
    30 October 2025                Publication of the 2025 third quarter and first nine months results

    Contacts

    CREDIT AGRICOLE PRESS CONTACTS

    CRÉDIT AGRICOLE S.A. INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS

    Institutional investors + 33 1 43 23 04 31 investor.relations@credit-agricole-sa.fr
    Individual shareholders + 33 800 000 777 (freephone number – France only) relation@actionnaires.credit-agricole.com
         
    Cécile Mouton + 33 1 57 72 86 79 cecile.mouton@credit-agricole-sa.fr
     

    Equity investor relations:

       
    Jean-Yann Asseraf
    Fethi Azzoug
    + 33 1 57 72 23 81
    + 33 1 57 72 03 75
    jean-yann.asseraf@credit-agricole-sa.fr fethi.azzoug@credit-agricole-sa.fr
    Oriane Cante + 33 1 43 23 03 07 oriane.cante@credit-agricole-sa.fr
    Nicolas Ianna + 33 1 43 23 55 51 nicolas.ianna@credit-agricole-sa.fr
    Leila Mamou + 33 1 57 72 07 93 leila.mamou@credit-agricole-sa.fr
    Anna Pigoulevski + 33 1 43 23 40 59 anna.pigoulevski@credit-agricole-sa.fr
         
         
    Credit investor and rating agency relations:  
    Gwenaëlle Lereste + 33 1 57 72 57 84 gwenaelle.lereste@credit-agricole-sa.fr
    Florence Quintin de Kercadio + 33 1 43 23 25 32 florence.quintindekercadio@credit-agricole-sa.fr
         
         
         

    See all our press releases at: www.credit-agricole.com  


    1 Car, home, health, legal, all mobile phones or personal accident insurance.
    2 CA Auto Bank, automotive JVs and automotive activities of other entities
    3 50% reduction in the carbon footprint (tonnes of CO equivalent/€m invested) of its equity-listed and corporate bond investment portfolios and directly held property. (The previous target was a 25% reduction in the carbon footprint of its equity-listed and corporate bond investment portfolio in 2025 vs 2019.)

    4 Low-carbon energy outstandings made up of renewable energy produced by the clients of all Crédit Agricole Group entities, including nuclear energy outstandings for Crédit Agricole CIB.
    5 Crédit Agricole CIB green asset portfolio, in line with the eligibility criteria of the Group Green Bond Framework published in November 2023.
    6 The reorganisation of the Mobility activities of the CA Consumer Finance Group had a non-recurring impact in Q3 2023 due to the transfer of business assets, indemnities received and paid, the accounting treatment of the 100% consolidation of CA Auto Bank (formerly FCA Bank) and the reorganisation of the automotive financing activities within the CA Consumer Finance Group (particularly the review of application solutions).
    7 See Appendixes for more details on specific items.
    8 The cost of risk/outstandings (in basis points) on a four-quarter rolling basis is calculated on the cost of risk of the past four quarters divided by the average outstandings at the start of each of the four quarters
    9 The cost of risk/outstandings (in basis points) on an annualised basis is calculated on the cost of risk of the quarter multiplied by four and divided by the outstandings at the start of the quarter
    10 Average rate of loans to monthly production for July and August 2024.
    11 Equipment rate – Home-Car-Health policies, Legal, All Mobile/Portable or personal accident insurance
    12 SAS Rue La Boétie dividend paid annually in Q2
    13 Home Purchase Savings Plan base effect (reversal of the Home Purchase Savings Plan provision) in Q3-23 totalling +€118m in revenues and +€88m in net income Group share. 

    14 Underlying, excluding specific items.
    15 Scope effect of Degroof Petercam revenues: +€140 million in the third quarter of 2024.
    16 Scope effect in expenses in the third quarter of 2024: Degroof Petercam for -€104 million and miscellaneous others.
    17 Costs related to the integration of ISB (CACEIS): -€26 million in third quarter 2024 versus -€5 million in third quarter 2023; costs related to the integration of Degroof Petercam: -€8 million in third quarter 2024.

    18 Provisioning rate calculated with outstandings in Stage 3 as denominator, and the sum of the provisions recorded in Stages 1, 2 and 3 as numerator.
    19 The cost of risk/outstandings (in basis points) on a four-quarter rolling basis is calculated on the cost of risk of the past four quarters divided by the average outstandings at the start of each of the four quarters
    20 The cost of risk/outstandings (in basis points) on an annualised basis is calculated on the cost of risk of the quarter multiplied by four and divided by the outstandings at the start of the quarter
    21         See Appendixes for more details on specific items.
    22 SRF costs amounted to -€509 million over the first nine months of 2023

    23 See Appendixes for details on the calculation of the RoTE (return on tangible equity)
    24 The annualised underlying net income Group share corresponds to the annualisation of the underlying net income Group share (Q1x4; H1x2; 9Mx4/3) by restating each period for IFRIC impacts to linearise them over the year
    25 Property and casualty insurance premium income includes a scope effect linked to the first consolidation of CATU (a property and casualty insurance entity in Poland): Impact of +0.5% on growth in property and casualty insurance premium income (+8.7% change in premium income excluding CATU between the third quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2024); Impact of +2.0% on portfolio growth, i.e. an impact of 314,000 contracts (+3.1% growth excluding CATU between September 2023 and September 2024).

    26 Scope: property and casualty in France and abroad
    27 P&C combined ratio in France (Pacifica) including discounting and excluding undiscounting, net of reinsurance: (claims + operating expenses + fee and commission income) to gross earned premiums; the ratio is calculated for the first nine months of 2024. The net combined ratio excluding the effect of discounting for the first nine months of 2024 is 97.7% (-0.2 percentage point year-on-year).
    28 Excl. JVs
    29 Excluding assets under custody for institutional clients
    30 Amount of allocation of Contractual Service Margin (CSM) and Risk Adjustment (RA) including funeral guarantees
    31 Amount of allocation of CSM and RA
    32 Net of cost of reinsurance, excluding financial results
    33 Indosuez Wealth Management scope
    34 Degroof Petercam data for the quarter included in Wealth Management results: Revenues of €140m and expenses of -€104m (excluding integration costs partly borne by Degroof Petercam)

    35 Refinitiv LSEG
    36 Bloomberg in EUR
    37 CA Auto Bank, automotive JVs and auto activities of other entities
    38 CA Auto Bank and automotive JVs
    39 Base effect related to the reorganisation of Mobility activities in Q3-23: +€1m in revenues, -€26m in equity-accounted entities, +€61m in net income on other assets, -€16m in corporate income tax, i.e. +€19m in net income Group share
    40 Base effect related to the reorganisation of Mobility activities in 9M-23: +€300 million in revenues, -€18 million in expenses, -€85 million in cost of risk, -€39 million in equity-accounted entities, +€89 million in net income on other assets, -€89 million in corporate income tax, i.e. +€159 million in net income Group share.
    41 Cost of risk for the last four quarters as a proportion of the average outstandings at the beginning of the period for the last four quarters.
    42 Base effect related to the reorganisation of Mobility activities in 9M-23: +€300 million in revenues, -€18 million in expenses, -€85 million in cost of risk, -€39 million in equity-accounted entities, +€89 million in net income on other assets, -€89 million in corporate income tax, i.e. +€159 million in net income Group share.
    43 Net of POCI outstandings
    44 Source: Abi Monthly Outlook, July 2024: -1.9% June/June and -1.2% year to date for all loans
    45 Home Purchase Saving Plan base effect (reversal of the provision for Home Purchase Saving Plans) in Q2-23 of +€52 million in revenues and +€37 million in net income Group share.
    46 Reversal of provision for Cheque Image Exchange Provision of + €21m in Q2-23
    47 At 30 September 2024 this scope includes the entities CA Italy, CA Polska, CA Egypt and CA Ukraine.

    48 Over a rolling four quarter period.
    49 A credit institution that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Crédit Agricole S.A. Large credit exposures borne by the Regional Banks must be presented to Foncaris, which partially guarantees such exposures.
    50 As part of its annual resolvability assessment, Crédit Agricole Group has chosen to waive the possibility offered by Article 72ter(3) of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) to use senior preferred debt for compliance with its TLAC requirements in 2024.
    51 Gross amount before buy-backs and amortisations
    52 Excl. AT1 issuances
    53 Gross amount before buy-backs and amortisations
    54 Excl. AT1 issuances
    55 Excl. senior secured debt
    56 Excl. senior secured debt
    57 Excl. AT1 issuances
    58 APMs are financial indicators not presented in the financial statements or defined in accounting standards but used in the context of financial communications, such as underlying net income Group share or RoTE. They are used to facilitate the understanding of the company’s actual performance. Each APM indicator is matched in its definition to accounting data.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Historical reconstructions, creative master classes and more: what awaits guests of the Moskino cinema park this weekend

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    This weekend, visitors to the Moskino Cinema Park will be able to travel to the lands of Red Rus’ in the 11th century and witness the bloody struggle for territories bordering the Polish Principality. On November 9 and 10, reenactors will recreate events related to the campaigns of Yaroslav the Wise. Thematic excursions, exhibitions and historical master classes have also been prepared for guests. Live music will also be playing in the cinema park all weekend.

    Entrance to events on November 9 and 10 by tickets. You can buy and pay for them only online, cash payment is not provided. In case of visiting only the cinema, purchasing a ticket to enter the Moskino cinema park is not required. Parking in a personal car when visiting the cinema park is free.

    See historical battles and master ancient crafts

    These days, the Moskino cinema park will become the arena of events from 1030–1031. The border towns of Przemysl and Cherven, first annexed after the Baptism of Rus during the reign of Vladimir the Saint, had been the subject of a dispute between the neighbors since the 10th century. It was these lands that Yaroslav’s brother Svyatopolk the Accursed gave to the Polish king in exchange for troops to help in the struggle for power over Rus. Prince Yaroslav the Wise put an end to his brother’s claims and recaptured the territories on the border with Poland.

    Guests of the Moskino cinema park will see military shows and professional productions dedicated to the events of those years. At 11:00 and 16:00 viewers will see the drill training of squads dressed in authentic costumes of warriors of those times.

    At the Cathedral Square site at 12:00 you can cheer for the participants of the squad tournament, and at 14:00 you can listen to a lecture on “Clothing of the inhabitants of Rus”. At 17:30 you can see the battle of the troops of Yaroslav the Wise and the army of the Polish king Boleslav I. About 80 people will take part in the detailed reconstruction.

    At 15:00 in the culinary lecture hall, everyone will be shown how to prepare dishes according to old and traditional recipes. Among them are meat and bean soups, homemade cheese, smoked brisket, onion jam, as well as juicy chicken on the fire, pork ribs smoked in a cauldron and hearty pork roast.

    These days, the cinema park will organize three excursion routes at once through several exhibitions. The first exhibition will show unique costumes from the 9th–11th centuries, the second will demonstrate various military equipment from the 11th century. During a visit to the third exhibition, guests will learn the most interesting details related to the life of Rus’ in the 11th century. The excursions last 20 minutes and will take place in turns throughout the day — from 10:00 to 18:00. The meeting place is the stele near the display cases with historical exhibits.

    At the master classes, participants will be offered to try themselves in the role of a blacksmith and candle maker, master the technique of printing on fabric, the basics of calligraphy and carpet weaving, learn the basics of wood and soapstone carving, and also take part in the production of beads and amulet dolls, practice minting coins and soap making. Guests will learn how jewelers worked without microscopes and bright lighting, how armor was created, visit a warrior school and military training classes, and visit a gunsmith and tanner.

    And military equipment from the 20th century can be seen in the parking lot in front of the Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Equipment. The exhibition “Behind the Ribbon” presents airborne and infantry armored vehicles, support vehicles such as the BMD-1, BTR-60, BTR-70, Ural-375, GAZ-66, BTR-60 and others.

    Get creative and go on a film trip

    On 25 sites of the cinema park, all comers will find active games and other events. For example, you can shoot a bow, fight on tyambars and manually start a fire. Guests will also be offered to play board games “Tavley”, “Mill”, “Fox and Geese”, “Daldosa”.

    You can also take a fascinating journey through your favorite films. For example, the Uyezdny Gorod site will host the premiere of a staged shoot based on Mikhail Kozakov’s famous film Pokrovskie Vorota. Guests will be able to play their favorite characters: Velyurov, Kostik, Margarita, or Khobotov. The shoot will take place from 10:00 to 18:00.

    The Pitersky Bar venue will turn into the legendary Three Minnows tavern from the Buratino fairy tale. Guests will act out a scene fragment together with the fox Alice and the cat Basilio. You can take a souvenir photo dressed as the fairytale character.

    At the Moscow in the 1940s site, you can immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the post-war capital, try on the image of the heroes of that time and take photos.

    In the educational center of the Moskino cinema park, young Muscovites will take part in master classes. Thus, at the string art master class, children, under the guidance of experienced craftsmen, will create works of art by forming images from threads. And at another, they will make a movie clapperboard, a device used for sound synchronization during filming. Children will be taught how to depict emotions using face painting and oil paint at a master class on face painting with special paints. Participation in the master classes is paid.

    On the first floor of the educational center you can also buy a ticket for a walking tour. Starting at 11:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 15:00.

    Children are welcome in the Fairytale Park. In the castle, they will learn teamwork when moving cubes from one sector to another, and will demonstrate their accuracy in the Ring Toss. And at the Snake Catcher station, children will have a fun game with a rope and islands. In addition, children will take part in the Horseman relay race with a toy horse and sword, the Spinner game, and in balls.

    Become a star and watch a movie

    All visitors to the Media Academy of the film park will be able to unleash their creative potential this coming weekend. There will be classes on acting, where they will teach how to create memorable images, tell the secrets of stage speech, plasticity and movement, and also introduce various acting techniques.

    Guests are also welcome to a dance master class, where participants will be able to create their own style of movement to music. And in the “Sing Like in the Movies!” classes, vocal teachers will teach you how to control your breathing, help you understand how to work with the diaphragm and make your voice beautiful and expressive. Entrance is paid.

    Musical groups will perform at the Gonzaga Theatre. They will play pieces on ancient instruments such as the duduk and the bugle. In addition, viewers will be able to learn all the secrets of sword fights and understand how the knights fought in the legendary Soviet film The Ballad of the Valiant Knight Ivanhoe, the box office leader of 1983.

    At the Moskino Kinopark cinema, adults will be able to watch the drama Love of the Soviet Union, which tells about the fates of people in the 1930s, and the film Time to Live, starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield. For fans of family films, the program includes a new film, The Return of Kesha the Parrot. Guests will also enjoy fairy-tale adventures in the new fantasy Tinderbox, filmed in Karelia and in the reserves of the Novgorod Region. Tickets can be purchased on the website.

    Weekend at the Moskino Cinema Park

    Immerse yourself in the world of cinema, try yourself in various creative directions and simply enjoy free time with family and friends – this is the unique opportunity that the Moskino cinema park offers its guests.

    The Moskino Cinema Park, which is part of the Moscow Cinema Cluster, is part of Sergei Sobyanin’s Moscow — City of Cinema project. The first stage of its development has already been completed: 18 natural sites, four pavilions and six infrastructure facilities have been built. Among them are the sets of Moscow Center, Moscow in the 1940s, Vitebsk Station, Yurovo Airport, Cathedral Square, Deaf Village, County Town, Cowboy Town, St. Petersburg Bar and other sites.

    The capital’s film cluster also includes the Maxim Gorky Film Studio (sites on Sergei Eisenstein Street and Valdaisky Proezd), the Moskino cinema chain, the Moskino film factory, the Moskino film commission, and the Moskino film platform.

    The President of Russia and the Mayor of Moscow ceremoniously opened the Moskino cinema parkFrom Ancient Rus’ to Our Time: Which Sites of the Moskino Cinema Park Can You Immerse Yourself in Different ErasVitebsk railway station, Cathedral square and the plane cabin. Exploring the Moskino cinema park

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    https://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/146236073/

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI: Report for the nine months ended 30 September 2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Highlights

    • Added 33 GWh of annual proportionate power generation in the SE3 and SE4 price areas through acquisitions and increased ownership in existing windfarms.
    • Power generation amounted to 620 GWh for the reporting period, which was approximately ten percent below expectations, due to lower-than-average wind speeds and voluntary production curtailments during periods of low electricity prices.
    • Continued progress on the Company’s greenfield projects, with additional land secured and the first projects in the UK and Germany approaching the ready-to-permit stage.

    Consolidated financials – 9 months

    • Cash flows from investing activities amounted to MEUR 39.5 and was positively impacted by the sale of the Leikanger hydropower plant in the second quarter.
    • Cash flows from operating activities amounted to MEUR -3.6.

    Proportionate financials – 9 months

    • Achieved electricity price amounted to EUR 35 per MWh, which resulted in a proportionate EBITDA of MEUR 6.9.
    • Proportionate net debt of MEUR 55.9, with significant liquidity headroom available through the MEUR 170 revolving credit facility.

    Financial Summary

    Orrön Energy owns renewables assets directly and through joint ventures and associated companies and is presenting proportionate financials to show the net ownership and related results of these assets. The purpose of the proportionate reporting is to give an enhanced insight into the Company’s operational and financial results.

    Expressed in MEUR

    1 Jan 2024-
    30 Sep 2024
    9 months
    1 Jul 2024-
    30 Sep 2024
    3 months
    1 Jan 2023-
    30 Sep 2023
    9 months
    1 Jul 2023-
    30 Sep 2023
    3 months
    1 Jan 2023-
    31 Dec 2023
    12 months
    Consolidated financials          
    Revenue 18.6 1.6 19.6 2.3 28.0
    EBITDA 0.9 -7.1 -4.2 -6.7 -5.1
    Operating profit (EBIT) -11.2 -11.3 -12.6 -9.4 -17.0
    Net result -6.7 -11.1 -15.6 -7.8 -7.6
    Earnings per share – EUR -0.02 -0.04 -0.05 -0.03 -0.03
    Earnings per share diluted – EUR -0.02 -0.04 -0.05 -0.03 -0.03
    Proportionate financials1          
    Power generation (GWh) 620 164 539 161 765
    Average price achieved per MWh – EUR 35 18 49 23 47
    Operating expenses per MWh – EUR 18 21 18 20 18
    Revenue 22.0 2.9 26.6 3.6 36.2
    EBITDA 6.9 -4.9 4.0 -4.3 5.3
    Operating profit (EBIT) -8.1 -10.1 -7.8 -8.2 -11.0

    1 Proportionate financials represent Orrön Energy’s proportionate ownership (net) of assets and related financial results, including joint ventures. For more details see section Key Financial Data in the report for the interim report for the third quarter.

    Comment from Daniel Fitzgerald, CEO of Orrön Energy AB
    “The third quarter provided many opportunities for our business, in a period characterised by low and volatile electricity prices. We continued to grow our business through selective acquisitions and consolidation opportunities, and continued to lay the foundation for future growth through our greenfield projects across Europe. However, the third quarter was challenging from a revenue and electricity price perspective, impacting our financial results. In the Nordics this was primarily due to lower-than-expected electricity demand, low gas prices and an oversupply of electricity during peak hours. Despite these challenges, we successfully expanded our asset base through strategic acquisitions of shares and assets across wind farms and companies, delivered in line with our cost guidance and maintained high technical availability across our operational portfolio. Orrön Energy’s balance sheet remains robust and we have ample liquidity to continue to invest in growth while withstanding periods with lower electricity prices, allowing us to capitalise on opportunities when markets are weak.

    Proportionate power generation amounted to 620 GWh for the reporting period and was below expectations due to lower-than-average wind speeds and voluntary production curtailments during periods of low electricity prices. I am pleased that we continue to achieve high technical availability across our operational assets, reaching an average of 96 percent in the third quarter, which demonstrates that we have the capacity to produce more if not for the weather conditions and low prices. Lower seasonal demand, coupled with high volatility in the electricity markets, resulted in a higher number of hours with low or negative electricity prices across the Nordics this summer. During these periods, we proactively curtailed production for short periods to avoid uneconomical power generation, returning to full operation once prices strengthened. As we move into winter, we expect to see higher demand which should help to strengthen electricity pricing into the fourth quarter this year and the first quarter next year, as already reflected in the futures price. Based on our power generation year to date, we now expect to produce around 900 GWh in 2024, depending on wind speeds and power prices during the fourth quarter.

    The third quarter marks one year since the start of the Sudan trial in the Stockholm District Court, which will conclude in early 2026 with a verdict expected around the summer 2026. My view on this case remains unchanged and, if anything, it has strengthened over the past 12 months, and I expect a complete and unequivocal acquittal of all parties involved, given the baseless nature of the allegations. Once the trial is complete, we will no longer need to fund the ongoing legal costs related to this case which reduces our G&A expenses by around MEUR 7 per annum, leading to higher underlying EBITDA for the Company in the long term.

    Strategic Growth
    We have been active on the M&A front since the start of the summer, adding 33 GWh of annual power generation in the SE3 and SE4 price areas through increased ownership in various wind farms and companies. These investments strengthen our operational portfolio, and we will continue to seek opportunities to further consolidate ownership in assets that are complementary to our existing portfolio.

    On the greenfield front, we continue to make good progress with our growth strategy. Having secured additional land, we are now moving closer to the ready-to-permit phase for our first large-scale projects in both the UK and Germany, where market valuations and demand for such projects remain high. Additionally, we have commissioned our first battery project in Sweden and continue to advance a pipeline of projects across wind, solar and batteries in the Nordics.

    Financially Resilient
    We remain in a financially robust position, with liquidity headroom exceeding MEUR 110. Proportionate revenues and other income amounted to MEUR 2.9 for the third quarter, which was impacted by low electricity prices, resulting in a proportionate EBITDA of MEUR -4.9 for the third quarter and MEUR 6.9 for the reporting period. Due to cost savings and phasing of investments into 2025, we are revising our capital expenditure guidance to MEUR 11 for 2024.

    Looking Ahead
    Throughout the remainder of the year, we will intensify our efforts on the greenfield side to reach the ready-to-permit phase for our first large-scale projects, while continuing to explore opportunities to capitalise on the current market conditions. Orrön Energy has a resilient financial position, enabling us to withstand periods of low pricing while still investing in accretive growth opportunities and acquisitions. I expect market conditions to improve as we come into the winter months, and over time, I am convinced that we will see further value creation through the growth in our core business and greenfield projects.

    Once again, I thank our shareholders for their continued support and look forward to sharing updates as we continue to grow the business.”

    Webcast
    Listen to Daniel Fitzgerald, CEO and Espen Hennie, CFO commenting on the report and presenting the latest developments in Orrön Energy and its future growth strategy at a webcast held on 8 August 2024 at 14.00 CEST. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

    Registration for the webcast presentation is available on the website and the below link:
    https://vimeo.com/event/4678321/54544efc16

    For further information, please contact:

    Robert Eriksson
    Director Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations
    Tel: +46 701 11 26 15
    robert.eriksson@orron.com

    Jenny Sandström
    Communications Lead
    Tel: +41 79 431 63 68
    jenny.sandstrom@orron.com

    Orrön Energy is an independent, publicly listed (Nasdaq Stockholm: “ORRON”) renewable energy company within the Lundin Group of Companies. Orrön Energy’s core portfolio consists of high quality, cash flow generating assets in the Nordics, coupled with greenfield growth opportunities in the Nordics, the UK, Germany and France. With financial capacity to fund further growth and acquisitions, and backed by a major shareholder, management and Board with a proven track record of investing into, leading and growing highly successful businesses, Orrön Energy is in a unique position to create shareholder value through the energy transition.

    Forward-looking statements
    Statements in this press release relating to any future status or circumstances, including statements regarding future performance, growth and other trend projections, are forward-looking statements. These statements may generally, but not always, be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “seek”, “will”, “would” or similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that could occur in the future. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to several factors, many of which are outside the company’s control. Any forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date on which the statements are made and the company has no obligation (and undertakes no obligation) to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Poultry feed deal may raise prices for farmers in East Anglia

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    CMA’s Phase 1 investigation has found that Boparan’s deal to buy ForFarmers’ Burston feed mill could lead to farmers in East Anglia paying higher prices to feed their poultry.

    iStock

    A Phase 1 investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has found that Boparan’s proposed purchase of ForFarmers’ Burston feed mill site could lead to a substantial lessening of competition (SLC) in the supply of poultry feed to independent customers (such as farmers) in East Anglia.  

    The CMA has also found that as a result of the transaction, Boparan would have the ability and incentive to harm rival poultry meat producers, leading to higher poultry feed costs for chicken farmers and processors which could be ultimately passed to retailers and consumers.  

    ForFarmers and Boparan (through 2Agriculture) both manufacture and supply chicken and other types of poultry feed in the UK.  

    The CMA’s investigation found that the deal could lead to reduced competition in the local area around Burston – 1 of the 2 feed mill sites Boparan is seeking to purchase from ForFarmers. The CMA is concerned that the deal could lead to less capacity for feed being supplied to independent farmers and processors resulting in higher costs and a reduction in quality of services.  

    The CMA did not find competition concerns in relation to the second feed mill site Boparan is planning to acquire in Radstock.  

    ForFarmers and Boparan have 5 working days to submit proposals to address the CMA’s concerns. If suitable proposals are not submitted, the CMA will progress to an in-depth Phase 2 investigation.

    Joel Bamford, Executive Director of Mergers at the CMA, said:  

    We’re concerned that this deal could worsen competition between poultry feed suppliers in East Anglia – leading to higher costs for farmers which could then be passed down to shoppers.  

    It’s now up to the companies to offer solutions to address our concerns and avoid the deal moving to a full Phase 2 investigation.

    For more information, visit the Boparan / ForFarmers (Burston and Radstock mills) case page.

    Notes to Editors:  

    1. ForFarmers is a European manufacturer and supplier of animal feed, based in the Netherlands. 2Agriculture, a subsidiary of Boparan, is one of the UK’s largest suppliers of poultry feed by volume produced and uses its production to supply Hook 2 Sisters, a company affiliated with Boparan, as well as farmers on the open market. 
    2. In 2022, the CMA investigated a joint venture by ForFarmers and Boparan. Following a Phase 1 investigation, the CMA found that the merger gave rise to competition concerns in the local areas around four of the feed mills operated by the combined businesses, namely in Burston, Bury, Llay and Preston. The combined businesses would have accounted for 50 to 60% of the supply of meat poultry feed to third parties in three of these local areas (Burston, Bury and Llay) and 40 to 50% in the fourth local area (Preston). The companies offered proposals to address the CMA’s concerns at the time, but the CMA considered that these were unlikely to be sufficient in addressing its competition concerns and, as a result, the deal was referred for an in-depth Phase 2 investigation. Ultimately, the deal was abandoned by the Parties on 8 February 2023 during the CMA’s Phase 2 investigation. More information on the CMA’s previous investigation is available on the ForFarmers / Boparan JV case page
    3. The CMA has a statutory duty to promote competition for the benefit of consumers and assesses each case on its individual merits. This includes a duty to investigate mergers that could raise competition concerns in the UK where it has jurisdiction to do so. In this case, the CMA has concluded that the CMA has jurisdiction to review this merger because a relevant merger situation has been created: each of Boparan and ForFarmers’ Burston and Radstock feed mills is an enterprise that will cease to be distinct as a result of the merger and the turnover test is met.  More information on the CMA’s mergers jurisdiction and procedure can be read on its guidance page
    4. All media enquiries should be directed to the CMA press office by email on press@cma.gov.uk, or by phone on 020 3738 6460. 
    5. All enquiries from the general public should be directed to the CMA’s General Enquiries team on general.enquiries@cma.gov.uk or 020 3738 6000.

    Updates to this page

    Published 6 November 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI: Aktia Bank Plc’s directed share issue as a part of the long-term share savings plan

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Aktia Bank Plc
    Stock Exchange Release
    6 November 2024 at 9.00 a.m.

    Aktia Bank Plc’s directed share issue as a part of the long-term share savings plan

    As part of the Aktia Group’s employee share savings plan AktiaUna 2024–2025, Aktia Bank Plc has issued a total of 105,167 new shares. The share issue is based on the authorisation by the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on 3 April 2024.

    Aktia Bank Plc’s share savings plan AktiaUna is open for all employees in the group and a participant is offered the opportunity to save a proportion of his or her salary to be used for acquisition of Aktia shares (so called savings shares). The employee share savings plan is further described in Aktia’s annual and sustainability report.

    The new shares are savings shares subscribed for the participants with the participants’ savings accrued during 1 April–30 September 2024. The subscription price is 8.36 euro per share, which is based on the volume weighted average share price on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd during 1–31 October 2024 with a 10 per cent discount.

    The new shares will be entered into the Trade Register approximately on 20 November 2024 and will be applied for public trading on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd approximately as of 21 November 2024. The number of shares in Aktia after this share issue will increase up to 72,981,696 shares. The share subscription price will be credited in full to the company’s reserve for invested unrestricted equity.

    AKTIA BANK PLC

    For more information:
    Oscar Taimitarha, Director, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 562 2315

    Distribution:
    Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd
    Mass media
    www.aktia.com

    Aktia is a Finnish asset manager, bank and life insurer that has been creating wealth and wellbeing from one generation to the next for 200 years. We serve our customers in digital channels everywhere and face-to-face in our offices in the Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Vaasa and Oulu regions. Our award-winning asset management business sells investment funds internationally. We employ approximately 850 people around Finland. Aktia’s assets under management (AuM) on 30 September 2024 amounted to EUR 14.3 billion, and the balance sheet total was EUR 12.0 billion. Aktia’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (AKTIA). aktia.com.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Luigi Federico Signorini: The journey to financial well-being through financial inclusion

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Today’s event will explore the connection between financial inclusion and financial well-being. Why is this important?

    Financial inclusion has become a widely shared goal of government policies and a topic of interest for central banks and financial authorities at the international level. It has received a lot of attention over the years as an instrument to foster growth, reduce inequalities, increase employment, and alleviate poverty.1 Financial inclusion may help people cope with macroeconomic and idiosyncratic shocks, as it facilitates financial planning and the intertemporal shift of financial resources.

    From the policymaker’s standpoint financial inclusion is important as it improves the individual’s economic and financial well-being, whilst having a positive impact on the economy as whole. Studies find that the benefits of financial inclusion can be substantial even in countries with well-developed financial markets, because it can translate into higher wealth accumulation and greater resilience of low-income households. Other studies, focusing on emerging and developing countries, find that increased usage of bank accounts via debit cards has boosted the saving rate significantly because it reduces transaction costs for people to access their money.2

    The digitalisation of finance has significantly contributed to promoting financial inclusion through more efficient and effective technologies and through increased competition, which leads to higher quality products and services and to lower costs. Over the last decades, notable progress has been made around the world in increasing access to financial products and services for more individuals, with 76 per cent of people worldwide having a bank or mobile money account in 2021. This represents a significant increase from 2011 when the figure stood at 51 per cent.3

    Nonetheless, progress has been uneven across regions, even controlling for income levels. Increased access to digital financial products and services has not translated, in some cases, into higher actual usage of financial products and services. Moreover, in some instances, financial innovation has resulted in the lower financial inclusion of rural households4 or in the worsened financial well-being of individuals, particularly as the result of over-indebtedness and exposure to fraud and scams.5

    Possible causes include market failures, lack of competition, inadequate consumer protection rules and an insufficient level of digital and financial literacy.6 Even in advanced countries – where the offer of financial services is regulated and transparent, and consumers are better protected from intermediaries’ improper behaviour – authorities continue to consider how to improve the regulatory environment to manage new risks.

    A specific matter of concern is the exclusion of those who do not possess adequate digital skills for accessing and using the financial services. The data show that the elderly, those with lower education levels, and those living in rural areas suffer from limited access. The shift to digital channels will continue; appropriate actions need to be put into place to ensure that everybody can reap its benefits.

    It is generally understood that financial inclusion has three dimensions: access, use and quality. The first is the possibility for individuals to access basic financial services and products. The second is the actual ability of individuals to use such services and products in an effective way. The third (and subtler) dimension consists in creating the conditions for financial services and products to work best to improve people’s financial well-being.

    Progress along all three dimensions – access, use and quality – should ideally be simultaneous. Achieving better results on all three fronts is important to ensure the empowerment of consumers, so that markets can actually work in their best interest.

    The first dimension requires good infrastructures, which are a prerequisite for enabling the efficient and secure provision of financial services. It also requires a competitive environment, to foster higher cost-efficiency, a more diversified offering of financial products and services, and greater consumer choice.

    The second and third dimensions require consumer protection measures and financial education.

    Ex ante transparency rules work to ensure that customers are well informed before purchasing a financial product. Ex post rules need to envisage effective recourse if something goes wrong. Conduct supervision monitors the correct implementation of rules. Free and open competition is once again essential to enable consumers to exploit the full potential of transparency and conduct rules.

    Nothing, however, will work very well unless consumers are endowed with the minimum knowledge that is necessary (1) to make effective use of the information provided, (2) to activate in practice the tools through which services are offered, (3) to compare in a meaningful way the products offered on the market, and (4) to take full advantage of consumer protection rules. Therefore, financial and digital education initiatives are important.

    Given the growing complexity of financial markets, and the new opportunities offered by digitalisation, the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) has shifted its focus from simple access to financial services, which was originally its main objective, to fostering the use of financial services and understanding the conditions under which financial inclusion can enhance financial well-being.

    Last September, Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Honorary Patron of the GPFI, after having spent 15 years as United Nations Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development was given a new role focusing specifically on financial health (Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health). This also marks a change in perspective towards the need to focus on the actual outcomes of financial inclusion.

    Data are useful. The Global Findex database, maintained by the World Bank, is a valuable tool for evaluating progress on access and usage of financial services. More work may be needed on the quality dimension; concepts, statistics and pre-conditions for comparability are all thorny issues, and it is probably appropriate to rely on a set of different indicators rather than concentrate on a single one.

    Once again: the issue is empowerment, not paternalism – or, as one should perhaps say, parentalism. In all this, there should be no presumption that the regulator, even the best intentioned one, is in a position to take decisions for the consumer. Comprehensive financial education and a robust framework of consumer protection rules are the best tools available to us to enable consumers to make their choices in full awareness of the opportunities and risks.


    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Rosanna Costa: Medium – and long-run trends in interest rates – causes and implications for monetary policy

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    1. Welcome Remarks

    Good morning to all the speakers, discussants, the organizers of this event, Atif Mian, Sofia Bauducco, Mariana García and Lucciano Villacorta, and everyone who is here attending in person and to those following us via streaming. We welcome you to the twenty-seventh Annual Conference of the Central Bank of Chile entitled “Medium- and Long-Run Trends in Interest Rates: Causes and Implications for Monetary Policy.”

    Since 1997, the Central Bank of Chile (BCCh) has been convening prominent scholars and policymakers to this Conference to discuss major issues in central banking and their implications for emerging economies. Since its inception, this Conference has served as a bridge between academics and policymakers. This version is no exception: fresh and thoughtful research will support the discussion over the next two days on a topic that is very much front and center on the policy agenda. We will enjoy the presentations of seven authors, seven discussants, two keynote speakers, and a policy panel.

    2. Motivation and context

    This year’s conference tackles a topic that is increasingly at the forefront of economic discussions: the future trajectory of long-run real interest rates, their potential determinants, and the implications for monetary policy. The timing of this topic couldn’t be more relevant, especially in light of the sharpest and most synchronized monetary tightening we have seen in decades.

    As we all know, central banks in advanced economies have recently started lowering their policy rates and in many emerging economies this normalization process has been under way for some time now. Even so, policy rates had risen significantly over the past two years from their record lows in decades. This shift has sparked a lively debate regarding the future of medium- and long-run trends in the real rates; specifically, whether policy rates will revert to their pre-pandemic lows or will settle at a higher level.

    Opinions on this matter vary widely among experts and I think there is not a clear consensus on what the long run interest rates will look like in the future. On the one hand, there are reasons to believe that real interest rates are likely to revert to their historical lows, as the key factors that were mainly thought to have driven these rates down over the past forty years-such as demographic shifts, stagnant productivity growth, increased market power, higher risk aversion and sustained demand for safe assets-do not seem likely to revert sufficiently to produce a significant and lasting increase in real interest rates in the coming years.

    On the other hand, recent market indicators suggest that equilibrium long-term real interest rates have risen. Also, some new estimates of the natural interest rate-defined as the “long-run” equilibrium rate after shocks have dissipated-indicates that this rate may have risen in several advanced countries in the past few years. As I will discuss in a while, this shift could indicate that at least some structural drivers of real interest rates have changed direction or that the natural interest rate is adjusting to a new economic environment possibly characterized by higher levels of public debt.

    The future evolution of the natural interest rate has significant implications for monetary policy. Accurately assessing the long-run trend of the natural rate is essential for central banks, as this rate serves as a crucial reference point for monetary policy. The difference between the real interest rate and the natural rate provides valuable insight into a central bank’s monetary stance and aids in evaluating various policy options.

    However, the natural rate is an abstract concept, and its estimates often carry considerable uncertainty, particularly in the post-pandemic period. Since the natural rate is not directly observable, understanding its determinants has become vital for effective monetary policy. I am confident that the fruitful discussions we will have during this conference will deepen our understanding of these determinants and clarify where natural rates and other relevant interest rates may stand in the years ahead.

    In these opening remarks, I would like to take a moment to briefly review the key empirical long run trends we have observed in interest rates, as well as the primary explanations put forth in the literature. Following that, I will walk you through the main agenda of the Conference.

    3. Drivers behind the trends in interest rates

    Over the past forty years (up to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-2021), we have seen a remarkable decline in nominal interest rates across the globe. For example, during the 1981 to 2020 period, nominal returns on U.S. Treasury bonds, both short and long term, dropped significantly. The 2-year Treasury Bills experienced a drop of around 14 percentage points, and 10-year bonds saw a decline of 13 percentage points. During this same period, inflation also fell, albeit to a lesser degree, leading to real rate declines of about 5 and 4 percentage points for the 2- and 10-year bonds, respectively, putting sovereign real interest rates close to zero and even in negative territory for some periods. The decline was not limited to sovereign bond rates; it was also present in the returns on other so-called “safe” assets. Importantly, this downward trend was not exclusive to the United States. Real long-term rates have declined by several percentage points since the early 1980s in both developed and emerging economies, so this appears to be a global phenomenon.

    The global downward trend in observed risk-free rates over an extended period suggests a significant decline in the natural interest rate, often referred to as the “long-run” equilibrium rate. This secular decline has coincided with a relatively stable trajectory in the marginal product of capital, a stable trajectory on the returns on risky assets, and a stable trajectory in the investment rate, particularly in advanced economies. As a result, these patterns are often attributed to factors that have increased the overall supply of savings over the years, alongside factors that have redirected this excess in savings toward the demand for safe assets rather than productive investments.

    In recent years, much of the literature has centered on the hypothesis of a “global saving glut.” This theory suggests that a significant excess of savings from certain countries and affluent groups has led to a marked shift toward safe assets. Consequently, there has been a notable increase in the prices of these assets, accompanied by a decline in interest rates.

    One contributor to this phenomenon was the increased savings from emerging economies, particularly since the 1990s. Factors such as robust economic growth, soaring commodity prices, and high risk aversion all fueled greater savings in these regions. As a result, these economies channeled substantial portions of their savings into global markets, with a significant impact on interest rates in developed countries.

    Another contributor to this saving glut was the increasing savings rates among the wealthiest households in developed nations. As income inequality has risen, rich households have saved a larger share of their income, further contributing to the excess savings phenomenon. Research indicates that the savings of the top 1% in the United States is comparable to the savings generated by the excess from emerging markets, a trend the literature refersto as the “saving glut of the rich.” This dynamic has profound implications for wealth distribution and economic stability.

    Other mentioned explanations for the excess savings are linked to more structural factors, such as the secular stagnation hypothesis, which suggests a persistent decline in potential economic growth that limits investment opportunities, thereby driving savings toward safer assets. Additionally, demographic changes-including declining population growth and longer life expectancy-have influenced savings behavior across generations and regions.

    Finally, rising risk aversion, the declining cost of investment goods, and the substantial increase in corporate power over recent years further explain why this increase in savings has been directed toward safe assets rather than productive investments.

    Over the past 40 years, all these factors have shaped the dynamics of savings, investment, and, consequently, interest rates, each contributing with varying significance during different phases. Looking ahead, the trajectory of interest rates will heavily depend on the uncertain evolution of these drivers.

    The outlook for these structural factors influencing real interest rates is mixed. On the one hand, several key factors behind the pre-pandemic decline in interest rates- such as low potential growth, rising inequality, increasing uncertainty, growing market power, and longer life expectancy- show no significant signs of changing direction. These forces suggest that real interest rates may revert to their declining pre-pandemic trend. On the other hand, additional factors could lead to a sustained rise in rates. These include a decrease in savings due to a growing inactive population, substantial fiscal deficits resulting in very high levels of debt, potential productivity gains from advancements in artificial intelligence, geopolitical risks and climate disasters affecting global savings, and significant investments in the green transition.

    I hope our upcoming discussion will help clarify the direction of these drivers and enhance our understanding of where the natural interest rate may be headed in the future.

    4. Conference contents

    Let me now give a very brief overview of what we will be hearing today and tomorrow:

    The Conference will start with the session “Interest Rates and Macroeconomic Policy” In this session, the paper by Francesco Bianchi, Renato Faccini and Leonardo Melosi examines the role of fiscal policy in shaping the future path of real interest rates. Then, the paper by Gabriel Jiménez, Dmitry Kuvshinov, José-Luis Peydró and Bjorn Richter will look at the links between the path of the monetary policy rate over time and the risk of banking crises from a historical perspective.

    Then, we will continue with the first keynote speech, delivered by Ricardo Reis. He will address the implications of interest rate trends on inflation, as well as the subsequent effects of inflation on these trends.

    We will then transition to our second academic session, which will focus on “Theories of Natural Interest Rates.” The natural interest rate, an abstract concept, is defined as the interest rate that prevails in long-term equilibrium once economic shocks have dissipated and prices are fully flexible. As a latent variable, understanding its determinants and refining its measurement is of paramount importance.

    This session will begin with a paper by Ozge Akinci, Gianluca Beningno, Marco del Negro, and Albert Queralto, who propose a complementary concept referred to as the Financial (In) Stability Real Interest Rate. While the natural interest rate is typically associated with macroeconomic stability, this new concept emphasizes the critical importance of financial stability. Following this presentation, Galo Nuño will discuss three theories concerning natural interest rates. Traditional theories often highlight structural drivers such as technological advancement and demographic changes. However, Galo’s paper will challenge this conventional view, exploring how factors such as public debt, household inequality, the zero lower bound, and persistent negative supply shocks may influence natural interest rates.

    To conclude this session, we will hear from Elías Albagli, Sofia Bauducco, Guillermo Carlomagno, Luis Gonzales, and Juan Marcos Wlasiuk, who will discuss the potential impacts of climate change and escalating geopolitical tensions on long-term interest rates.

    The second day will begin with the keynote speech titled “Long-Run Interest Rates: Past, Present, and Future” by Atif Mian. He will explore the interconnections between interest rates and both private and public debt over time. Atif will first address the role of inequality in explaining the simultaneous decline in interest rates and the rise in debt over the past few decades. He will then examine the dynamics of debt, discussing an appropriate constraint on interest rates to prevent explosive borrowing. Finally, he will focus on estimating future yields.

    Next, we will transition to the session titled “Interest Rates, Inflation, and Transmission to Emerging Markets.” This session will open with the paper “U.S. Anti-Inflationary Policy and Emerging Economies: 1980 vs. 2020s” by Drishan Banerjee, Galina Hale, and Harrison Shieh. Their paper analyzes macroeconomic data from advanced and emerging economies in the 1980s and 2020s to highlight differences in how U.S. monetary policies have impacted emerging markets in these two distinct periods. The second paper in this session, by Francisco Legaspe and Liliana Varela, will show how country-specific risks, such as political uncertainty and risk on debt repayment explain excess returns from investing in local currency assets in LATAM countries. Finally, a policy panel featuring Elias Albagli, Jean-Marc Natal, Boris Hofmann, and Ricardo Reis will offer insights into the future of interest rates and their implications for monetary policy in emerging economies. 

    5. Acknowledgements

    I would like to especially thank Atif Mian for being the external organizer of this Conference, as well as locals Sofia Bauducco, Mariana García and Lucciano Villacorta for putting togethersuch a wonderful program. I also thank all the speakers and contributors and look forward to the Conference volume that we will publish in some months with its formatted contents.

    Let me finish by thanking María José Reyes, Constanza Martinelli, Carolina Besa, Daniela Gaete, Daphne Guiloff, Pablo Barros, and both the Public Affairs Department and the Economic Research Department of the Central Bank of Chile for all their invaluable help managing the logistics of organizing this Annual Conference.

    I wish you a fruitful discussion over the next two days.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI: Crédit Agricole Assurances: Steady growth across all our business lines

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Release                                                  Paris, November 6th 2024

    Steady growth across all our business lines

    9M 2024 KEY FIGURES:

    • Total revenue1of 32.8 billion euros, up +18.2%2
    • Net inflows of +4.2 billion euros of which +1.1 billion on the General Account
    • Contribution to Crédit Agricole S.A.’s Net Income Group Share2of 1,466 million euros, up +11.3%2

    These new interim results confirm the momentum already seen in the 1st half of last year in all our business lines, both in France and internationally. These results are driven by the commitment of Crédit Agricole Assurances teams and our partner banks; a commitment to serving our customers that is currently particularly expressed through the handling of the damages caused by storms Kirk and Leslie. In an uncertain economic and geopolitical environment, these results illustrate the increased need for protection expressed by our customers, as reflected in the increase in life outstandings entrusted to us, and in the growth in the number of solutions to deal with life’s hazards.

    This confidence is also reflected in the latest S&P rating, which confirms our financial strength and the relevance of our model as an integrated insurer within the Crédit Agricole Group.

    During this final quarter, in line with our social project, we will be focusing on the prevention and detection of health risks, which is the theme of the new edition of our Innov&Act start-up challenge. This will enable us to identify innovative projects to improve the response to our customers’ protection needs, and society as a whole.

    Once again, I would like to thank all our team members, as well as Crédit Agricole’s Regional Banks and LCL for these great achievements”.

    Nicolas Denis, Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Agricole Assurances

    STRONG PERFORMANCE DRIVEN IN PARTICULAR BY SAVINGS AND INTERNATIONAL

    Over the first nine months of 2024, Crédit Agricole Assurances generated premium income1 of €32.8 billion, up +18.2%2 compared with end of September 2023, both in France (+12.6%) and international markets (+54.5%), driven by life insurance thanks to the reshaping of our international product offering and the success of payment bonus campaigns in France.

    In savings/retirement, gross inflows reached €23.9 billion at the end of September 2024, up +23.1% compared to the end of September 2023, fueled by the commercial campaigns launched during the first quarter of 2024, and the recovery in international markets. Combined with the acquisition of a significant group retirement contract, this led to a high level of gross inflows3 on the General Account, at €15.6 billion (+43.8%). Unit-linked gross inflows3 amounted to €8.3 billion, slightly decreasing (-3.5%), due to less favorable market conditions, notably a reduced attractiveness of unit-linked bond products. Consequently, the share of unit-linked within gross inflows fell to 34.8% (down -9.5 points year-on-year).

    Net inflows amounted to +€4.2 billion, up +€5.0 billion compared to end of September 2023. By product, net inflows amounted to +€3.1 billion on unit-linked and +€1.1 billion on General Account, back in positive territory since the last two quarters (+€6.3 billion over one year on General Account).

    Life insurance outstandings4 reached €343.2 billion at the end of September 2024, up +3.9% over nine months, driven by a positive market effect and net inflows. Unit-linked outstandings exceeded the €100 billion mark for the first time, standing at €102.8 billion (+7.7% since January 1, 2024). General Account outstandings have risen by +2.4% since January 1, 2024, to €240.5 billion. Unit-linked represented 29.9% of total life insurance outstandings at the end of September 2024 (+1.0 point over nine months).

    In property and casualty5, gross written premiums1 remained buoyant, rising by +7.8% compared to the end of September 2023, to €4.9 billion. Following the first consolidation of CATU, a Polish non-life insurance subsidiary, the portfolio grew by +5.1% to nearly 16.6 million policies, representing a net addition of more than 500,000 policies over the year; average premium rose as a result of price increases and changes in the product mix.

    Equipment rates within the Crédit Agricole Group’s banking networks kept growing year-on-year, at the Regional Banks (43.8%6, up +0.7 point), LCL (27.9%6, up +0.3 point) and CA Italia (20.0%7, up +1.7 points).

    In personal protection (death and disability/creditor/group insurance8), gross written premiums1 was up +5.7% compared to the end of September 2023, at €4.0 billion, driven by growth in all segments: creditor insurance (+3.4%) benefiting from international single-premium contracts, group insurance (+21.6%) and individual death and disability (+5.6%).

    RESULTS GROWTH IN LINE WITH BUSINESS GROWTH

    The contribution of Crédit Agricole Assurances to Crédit Agricole S.A.’s Net Income Group Share amounted to €1,466 billion, up +11.3%2 year-on-year, reflecting the strong performance across all business lines despite less favorable crop insurance claims than in the third quarter of 2023.

    The combined ratio9 stood at 95.5%, up +0.3 point over the year due to unfavorable discounting effects. The undiscounted net combined ratio slightly improved to 97.7% (-0.2 point year-on-year).

    The Contractual Service Margin10 reached €24.9 billion at the end of September 2024, up +4.5% since 31 December 2023, thanks to the contribution from new business and the stock revaluation in favourable market conditions.

    RATINGS

    Rating agency Date of last review Main operating subsidiaries Crédit Agricole Assurances Outlook Subordinated debt
    S&P Global Ratings October 3, 2024 A+ A Stable BBB+

    KEY EVENTS SINCE THE LAST PUBLICATION

    About Crédit Agricole Assurances

    Crédit Agricole Assurances, France’s largest insurer, is the company of the Crédit Agricole group, which brings together all the insurance businesses of Crédit Agricole S.A. Crédit Agricole Assurances offers a range of products and services in savings, retirement, health, personal protection and property insurance products and services. They are distributed by Crédit Agricole’s banks in France and in 9 countries worldwide, and are aimed at individual, professional, agricultural and business customers. Crédit Agricole Assurances has 5,800 employees. Its premium income (“non-GAAP”) to the end of 2023 amounted to 37.2 billion euros.
    www.ca-assurances.com


    1 Non-GAAP revenue
    2 On a like-for-like basis, excluding the 1stconsolidation of CATU (Crédit Agricole Towaraystow Ubezpieczeń, property and casualty insurance subsidiary in Poland) on 30 June 2024 with retroactive effect from 1 January 2024, changes are: +18.1% for total revenue, +54.0% for international revenue and +11.2% for the contribution to Crédit Agricole S.A.’s Net Income Group Share
    3 In local GAAP

    4 Savings, retirement, death and disability (funeral)
    5 On a like-for-like basis: +7.4% growth in non-life premium income, +3.1% increase in the portfolio; at the end of September 2024, CATU’s portfolio comprised more than 314,000 policies including net addition of +20,800 policies over the year
    6 Percentage of Regional banks and LCL customers with at least one motor, home, health, legal, mobile/portable or personal accident insurance policy marketed by Pacifica, French Crédit Agricole Assurances’ non-life insurance subsidiary
    7 Percentage of CA Italia network customers with at least one policy marketed by CA Assicurazioni, Italian Crédit Agricole Assurances’ non-life insurance subsidiary
    8 Excluding savings/retirement
    9 P&C combined ratio in France (Pacifica) including discounting and excluding undiscounting, net of reinsurance: (claims + operating expenses + commissions) to gross earned premiums
    10 CSM or Contractual Service Margin: corresponds to the profits expected by the insurer from the insurance business over the term of the contracts, for profitable contracts, for Savings, Retirement, Death & Disability and Creditor products.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Sobyanin made a decision on prize payments to Moscow Paralympic athletes

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    Moscow athletes – winners and medalists of the XVII Summer Paralympic Games 2024 in Paris (France), as well as their coaches will receive incentive payments from the city. This was reported in on your telegram channel Sergei Sobyanin reported.

    “The winners and medalists of the XVII Summer Paralympic Games in Paris will receive prizes from the city. 15 Moscow athletes participated in the Games in neutral status. Five of them won medals,” the Mayor of Moscow wrote.

    Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @mos_sobyanin 

    The XVII Summer Paralympic Games were held in Paris from August 28 to September 8, 2024. They were attended by 15 Moscow athletes, they competed in a neutral status. They won five medals in disciplines for athletes with musculoskeletal disorders: two gold, one silver and two bronze.

    The champions of the games were Maria Pavlova (swimming) and Khetag Khinchagov (athletics). The silver medal was won by Zoya Shchurova (swimming). The bronze medalists were Irina Vertinskaya (athletics) and Georgy Margiev (athletics).

    Swimmer Maria Pavlova, who won the Paralympic gold medal in the 100m breaststroke for athletes with musculoskeletal disabilities, set a world record in this discipline – one minute 26.09 seconds. The previous world record belonged to her: on June 8, 2024, she showed a result of one minute 26.86 seconds.

    The champions of the games will receive an incentive cash payment of four million rubles, the silver medalist – 2.5 million rubles, and the bronze medalists – 1.7 million rubles.

    Prize money will also be paid to the four coaches who took part in training the athletes. They will receive half of the amount awarded to the athletes.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    https://vvv.mos.ru/major/themes/11995050/

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI: Hapag-Lloyd Partners with HERE Technologies to Transform Global Supply Chain Visibility with Advanced Tracking Solution

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Hapag-Lloyd has equipped over 1.5 million containers with advanced tracking devices, integrating HERE Tracking into their real-time tracking solution to enhance inland Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) calculations across global transportation networks.
    • HERE Tracking delivers precise, AI-powered ETAs, providing Hapag-Lloyd with critical data for better operational planning, control and customer satisfaction.

    Hamburg, Germany and Amsterdam, Netherlands — Hapag-Lloyd, a global leader in container shipping, and HERE Technologies, the leading location data and technology company, today announced a strategic partnership focused on significantly improving visibility in global supply chains. HERE Tracking enhances Hapag-Lloyd’s existing real-time smart container tracking solution Live Position with predictive ETAs for inland transportation, driving operational efficiency and improving customer satisfaction.

    As supply chain disruptions continue to impact industries worldwide, the need for real-time visibility has never been greater. With the deployment of over 1.5 million container tracking devices to 90% of Hapag Lloyd’s total fleet, utilizing the HERE Tracking solution, Hapag-Lloyd can now accurately predict arrival of these containers across their rail, barge and truck transportation networks. The tracking devices will extend to Hapag-Lloyd’s entire fleet and include ETA prediction early next year.

    By leveraging AI-powered, predictive ETAs from HERE, businesses and operations managers can rely on continuously updated data throughout the entire transport journey. This accuracy empowers more effective planning and decision-making, ultimately improving operational efficiency.

    HERE Tracking, a versatile location service, offers customers the ability to monitor transportation in real time, both outdoors and indoors, and across multiple transportation modes. Along with predictive ETAs, the service also provides customizable geofencing for smart, event-based alerts and notifications and advanced post-trip analytics.

    HERE Tracking is delivered via an application programming interface (API), offering seamless integration with existing enterprise software, and allowing customers to maintain full control of their data.

    Jason Jameson, Chief Customer Officer at HERE Technologies, said: “We are excited to redefine the future of supply chain visibility together with Hapag-Lloyd and to provide their customers with the precise ETAs they need to stay competitive in a constantly evolving marketplace. We are looking forward to extending our partnership with Hapag-Lloyd to further enhance their service offerings for even greater operational efficiency and end-customer satisfaction.”

    “As the first carrier to offer real-time visibility of our container locations through our Live Position product, Hapag-Lloyd is taking the next step with HERE to enhance inland ETA predictions,” said Patrick Briest, Head of Network & Operations IT Products at Hapag-Lloyd. “While we already know where each container is at any moment, our collaboration with HERE allows us to predict where it will be across any transport mode, in any country. This capability significantly boosts our operational planning and supports our customers with unparalleled precision in shipment timing.”

    Media Contacts
    HERE Technologies
    Dr. Sebastian Kurme
    +49 173 515 3549 
    sebastian.kurme@here.com

    Anna Glockner
    +44 7855 170344
    anna.glockner@here.com

    Hapag-Lloyd
    Hanja Maria Richter
    +49 40 3001 5102
    HanjaMaria.Richter@hlag.com

    Leon Schulz
    +49 40 3001 4042
    LeonJukka.Schulz@hlag.com

    About HERE Technologies
    HERE has been a pioneer in mapping and location technology for almost 40 years. Today, the HERE location platform is recognized as the most complete in the industry, powering location-based products, services and custom maps for organizations and enterprises across the globe. From autonomous driving and seamless logistics to new mobility experiences, HERE allows its partners and customers to innovate while retaining control over their data and safeguarding privacy. Find out how HERE is moving the world forward at here.com.

    About Hapag-Lloyd
    With a fleet of 287 modern container ships and a total transport capacity of 2.2 million TEU, Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world’s leading liner shipping companies. In the Liner Shipping segment, the Company has around 13,700 employees and 400 offices in 140 countries. Hapag-Lloyd has a container capacity of 3.2 million TEU – including one of the largest and most modern fleets of reefer containers. A total of 114 liner services worldwide ensure fast and reliable connections between more than 600 ports on all the continents. In the Terminal & Infrastructure segment, Hapag-Lloyd has equity stakes in 20 terminals in Europe, Latin America, the United States, India and North Africa. Around 2,900 employees are assigned to the Terminal & Infrastructure segment and provide complementary logistics services at selected locations in addition to the terminal activities.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-Evening Report: Black balls on Sydney beaches are likely ‘fatbergs’ showing traces of human faeces, methamphetamine and PFAS: new analysis

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Beves, Associate Professor of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney

    Jon Beves, CC BY

    The mysterious black balls that washed up on Sydney’s beaches in mid-October were likely lumps of “fatberg” containing traces of human faeces, methamphetamine and PFAS, according to a new detailed analysis of their composition.

    Initial reports suggested the ominous lumps were probably tar balls from an oil spill. However, analysis with a barrage of scientific tests has revealed a more complicated picture.

    The mysterious black balls

    On October 16, the first reports emerged from Coogee Beach in Sydney’s east. Lifeguards reported numerous black spheres on the sand that appeared at first glance to be tar-like.

    Similar sightings were soon reported at nearby Bondi, Bronte, Tamarama and Maroubra beaches, prompting immediate closures and cleanup efforts. Authorities initially feared these could be toxic “tar balls”, leading to health advisories and public warnings.

    Preliminary testing by Randwick Council was consistent with tar balls made up of oil and debris.

    Oil – or something more disgusting?

    We set out to find out exactly what the black balls were made of and where they came from. We ran a wide range of tests and analyses with colleagues from UNSW in collaboration with the Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre and the the environmental forensics arm of the federal Department of Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water (DCCEEW). We also collaborated with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), and Randwick Council.

    Initial testing, based primarily on results from a technique called solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, suggested the material resembled unrefined oil. However, further testing indicated a different, more disgusting, composition.

    A cross section of one of the balls, showing its sandy coating and surface, some fibres, and the core.
    Jake Ireland, CC BY

    Analysing the elements involved revealed the black goop was mostly carbon. Radiocarbon dating then showed only about 30% of the carbon had a fossil origin, suggesting fossil fuels were not the major component of the balls.

    We also identified significant levels of calcium, and much smaller amounts of various metals. Spectroscopic tests showed signatures in the black balls matching fats, oils and greasy molecules often found in soap scum, cooking oil and food sources. This pointed to human waste.

    PFAS, drugs and signs of faeces

    The next step was to see if we could dissolve the substance in organic solvents. Only about one-third to one-half of the mass dissolved this way.

    We were able to take a closer look at the dissolved part using a technique called mass spectrometry, which identifies molecules by their weight and electric charge. This revealed molecules found in vehicle-grade fuels as well as organic molecules such as fatty acids and glycerides.

    We also identified industrial perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS or “forever chemicals”), steroidal compounds such as norgestrel, antihypertensive medications such as losartan, pesticides, and veterinary drugs. This is consistent with contamination from sewage and industrial runoff.

    The crushed up interior of one ball, ready for testing.
    Jon Beves, CC BY

    There were also signs of human faecal waste, including a cholesterol byproduct called epicoprostanol and residues of recreational drugs including tetrahydrocannabinol (also known as THC, a compound found in the cannabis plant) and methamphetamine. This is consistent with contributions from domestic waste.

    Analysing the part of the mass that we couldn’t dissolve proved more challenging. Here we tried solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and a method called Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, which uses infrared light to detect chemicals. The results suggested the presence of fats, but they were not definitive.

    Were the blobs lumps of fatberg?

    So what does all this mean? The high levels of fats, oils, greasy molecules and calcium, along with the low solubility, are consistent with a “fatberg”: a congealed mass of fats, oils and greasy molecules that can accumulate in sewage.

    The detection of markers of human fecal matter, medication and recreational drugs suggest the origin may be sewage or other urban effluent. However, while the composition of these black balls suggests they may be similar to fatbergs, we cannot definitively confirm their exact origin.

    The black ball incident does highlight the broader issue of pollution along Sydney’s coastline.

    Recent reports indicate about 28% of monitored swimming sites in New South Wales are prone to pollution. Many receive poor water quality ratings, especially after rain. Beaches such as Gymea Bay, Coogee Beach, Malabar Beach, and Frenchmans Bay have been identified as areas of concern, with advisories against swimming due to contamination from human faecal matter.

    Urban waste pollution

    Analysing and understanding urban waste pollution is not an easy task. It requires a multi-disciplinary approach.

    To unravel the complex composition of the blobs, we used carbon-14 dating, mass spectrometry, elemental analysis and microscopy techniques.

    Even after all we did, we cannot yet draw definitive conclusions regarding the primary source of the blobs. This uncertainty reflects the broader challenges faced by scientists and environmental agencies in tracking and addressing pollution in coastal areas.

    This incident underscores the importance of thorough scientific analysis in understanding environmental issues. By continuing to investigate the sources and composition of such pollutants, we can learn more about how urban waste management affects the health of our coasts.


    This research was led by UNSW researchers, including Associate Professor Jon Beves, Dr Tim Barrows, Dr Martin Bucknall, Professor William Alexander Donald, Dr Albert Fahrenbach, Dr Sarah Hancock, Dr Christopher Hansen, Ms Lisa Hua, Dr Martina Lessio, Dr Chris Marjo, Associate Professor Vinh Nguyen, Dr Martin Peeks, Dr Aditya Rawal, Dr Chowdhury Sarowar, Professor Timothy Schmidt, Dr Jake Violi and Dr Helen Wang.

    Jon Beves receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. He is affiliated with The Greens.

    William Alexander Donald receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the US National Institutes of Health, iCare Dust Diseases Care, Coal Services NSW Health and Safety Trust, as well as industry-funded research contracts.

    ref. Black balls on Sydney beaches are likely ‘fatbergs’ showing traces of human faeces, methamphetamine and PFAS: new analysis – https://theconversation.com/black-balls-on-sydney-beaches-are-likely-fatbergs-showing-traces-of-human-faeces-methamphetamine-and-pfas-new-analysis-242681

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Website fb-invest.eu and fraudulent offers of shares: FB Invest UG (haftungsbeschränkt) target of identity fraud

    Source: Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – In English

    Unknown persons are currently contacting consumers in Germany and offering them the opportunity to buy shares. BaFin suspects these persons of providing financial and investment services without the required authorisation. The offers of shares and the website fb-invest.eu used for this purpose do not originate from FB Invest UG (haftungsbeschränkt), based in Munich. This is a case of identity fraud. Furthermore, despite their assertions to the contrary, the website’s operators are not supervised by the financial supervisory authority BaFin.

    Anyone conducting banking business or providing financial or investment services in Germany may do so only with authorisation from BaFin. However, some companies offer these services without the necessary authorisation. Information on whether a particular company has been granted authorisation by BaFin can be found in BaFin’s database of companies.

    Theinformation provided by BaFin is based on section 37 (4) of the German Banking Act (KreditwesengesetzKWG).

    Please be aware:

    BaFin, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BundeskriminalamtBKA) and the German state criminal police offices (Landeskriminalämter) recommend that consumers seeking to invest money online should exercise the utmost caution and do the necessary research beforehand in order to identify fraud attempts at an early stage.

    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI Economics: WTO members review latest notifications of anti-dumping actions

    Source: WTO

    Headline: WTO members review latest notifications of anti-dumping actions

    The Committee reviewed new notifications of legislation submitted by Brazil, Cabo Verde, Solomon Islands and the United States. It continued its review of the legislative notifications of the European Union, Ghana, Liberia, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
    In reviewing semi-annual notifications on anti-dumping actions, delegations questioned and discussed the practices of other members including in relation to the initiation of investigations, the imposition of provisional and final anti-dumping measures, and the review of existing anti-dumping measures. Delegations questioned and discussed actions contained in the semi-annual reports submitted by Brazil, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States. In presenting its semi-annual report, Ukraine expressed concerns over the war in Ukraine and the effects on its domestic industry.
    In respect of the semi-annual reports covering the period 1 January – 30 June 2024, 45 members notified the Committee of anti-dumping actions taken in this period, while 15 reported no new anti-dumping actions in the same period. In addition, 51 members submitted one-time notifications indicating they have not established an authority competent to initiate and conduct an investigation and have not, to date, taken any anti-dumping actions.
    In addition to the semi-annual reports, the WTO’s Anti-Dumping Agreement requires members to submit without delay – on an ad hoc basis – notifications of all preliminary and final anti-dumping actions taken. Ad hoc notifications reviewed during the meeting were received from Argentina; Armenia; Australia; Brazil; Canada; Chile; China; the European Union; Georgia; India; Israel; Japan; Kazakhstan; the Republic of Korea; the Kyrgyz Republic; Mexico; Morocco; Pakistan; the Russian Federation; South Africa; Chinese Taipei; Türkiye; Ukraine; the United Kingdom; and the United States. Members raised questions and discussed actions taken by Australia, China and Morocco. Canada encouraged members to submit timely ad hoc notifications and raised concerns about the conduct of investigations it considered to be politically motivated which are not based on sufficient evidence or justification. 
    In the absence of the Chair of the Committee Mr Mohamed Zuhair Taous (Tunisia), the interim Chair Mr Wolfram Spelten (Germany), who was elected to preside over the October 2024 meetings of the Committee and of its subsidiary bodies, urged members that had not submitted semi-annual reports and ad hoc notifications of actions taken to do so promptly. The interim Chair welcomed members’ continued extensive use of the anti-dumping portal to submit their semi-annual reports. 
    The Committee adopted its 2024 annual report to the Council for Trade in Goods.
    Next meetings
    The Committee decided that its spring and autumn meetings for 2025 would be held in the weeks of 28 April and 27 October 2025, respectively.

    Share

    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI: Volta Finance Limited – Director/PDMR Shareholding

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Volta Finance Limited (VTA/VTAS)

    Notification of transactions by directors, persons discharging managerial
    responsibilities and persons closely associated with them

    NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES

    *****
    Guernsey, 4 November 2024

    Pursuant to the announcements made on 5 April 2019 and 26 June 2020 relating to changes to the payment of directors fees, Volta Finance Limited (the “Company” or “Volta”) has purchased 3,403 ordinary shares of no par value in the Company (“Ordinary Shares”) at an average price of €5.5 per share.

    Each director receives 30% of their Director’s fees for any year in the form of shares, which they are required to retain for a period of no less than one year from their respective date of issue.

    The shares will be issued to the Directors, who for the purposes of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 on Market Abuse (“MAR“) are “persons discharging managerial responsibilities” (a “PDMR“).

    • Dagmar Kershaw, Chairman and a PDMR for the purposes of MAR, acquired 1,047 additional Ordinary Shares in the Company. Following the settlement of this transaction, Ms Kershaw will have an interest in 13,885 Ordinary Shares, representing 0.04% of the issued shares of the Company;
    • Stephen Le Page, Director and a PDMR for the purposes of MAR, acquired 733 additional Ordinary Shares in the Company. Following the settlement of this transaction, Mr Le Page will have an interest in 51,295 Ordinary Shares, representing 0.14% of the issued shares of the Company;
    • Yedau Ogoundele, Director and a PDMR for the purposes of MAR acquired 733 additional Ordinary Shares in the Company. Following the settlement of this transaction, Mrs Ogoundele will have an interest in 7,595 Ordinary Shares, representing 0.02% of the issued shares of the Company; and
    • Joanne Peacegood, Director and a PDMR for the purposes of MAR acquired 890 additional Ordinary Shares in the Company. Following the settlement of this transaction, Mrs Peacegood will have an interest in 4,395 Ordinary Shares, representing 0.01% of the issued shares of the Company;

    The notifications below, made in accordance with the requirements of MAR, provide further detail in relation to the above transactions:

    1. Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated
    a)   Dagmar Kershaw
    CHAIRMAN & DIRECTOR  
    b) Stephen Le Page
    DIRECTOR
      c) Yedau Ogoundele
    DIRECTOR
    d) Joanne Peacegood
    DIRECTOR
    1. Reason for the notification
    a. Position/status Director
    b. Initial notification/Amendment Initial notification
    1. Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
    a. Name Volta Finance Limited
    b. LEI 2138004N6QDNAZ2V3W80
    1. Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
    a. Description of financial instrument, type of instrument Ordinary Shares
    b. Identification code GG00B1GHHH78
    c. Nature of the transaction Purchase and allocation of Ordinary Shares relation to the part-payment of Directors’ fees for the quarter ended 31 October 2024
    d. Price(s) €5.5 per share
    e. Volume(s) Total: 3,403
    f. Date of transaction 1 November 2024
    g. Place of transaction On-market – London
    1. Aggregate Purchase Information
    a)
    Dagmar Kershaw
    Chairman and Director
    b)
    Stephen Le Page
    Director
      c)
    Yedau Ogoundele
    Director
    d)
    Joanne Peacegood
    Director
    Aggr. Volume:
    1,047

    Price:
    €5.5per share

    Aggr. Volume:
    733

    Price:
    €5.5 per share

      Aggr. Volume:
    733

    Price:
    €5.5 per share

    Aggr. Volume:
    890

    Price:
    €5.5 per share

    CONTACTS

    For the Investment Manager
    AXA Investment Managers Paris
    François Touati
    francois.touati@axa-im.com
    +33 (0) 1 44 45 80 22

    Olivier Pons
    Olivier.pons@axa-im.com
    +33 (0) 1 44 45 87 30

    Company Secretary and Administrator
    BNP Paribas S.A, Guernsey Branch
    guernsey.bp2s.volta.cosec@bnpparibas.com 
    +44 (0) 1481 750 853

    Corporate Broker
    Cavendish Securities plc
    Andrew Worne
    Daniel Balabanoff
    +44 (0) 20 7397 8900

    *****
    ABOUT VOLTA FINANCE LIMITED

    Volta Finance Limited is incorporated in Guernsey under the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (as amended) and listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market for listed securities. Volta’s home member state for the purposes of the EU Transparency Directive is the Netherlands. As such, Volta is subject to regulation and supervision by the AFM, being the regulator for financial markets in the Netherlands.

    Volta’s Investment objectives are to preserve its capital across the credit cycle and to provide a stable stream of income to its Shareholders through dividends that it expects to distribute on a quarterly basis. The Company currently seeks to achieve its investment objectives by pursuing exposure predominantly to CLO’s and similar asset classes. A more diversified investment strategy across structured finance assets may be pursued opportunistically. The Company has appointed AXA Investment Managers Paris an investment management company with a division specialised in structured credit, for the investment management of all its assets.

    *****

    ABOUT AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS
    AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) is a multi-expert asset management company within the AXA Group, a global leader in financial protection and wealth management. AXA IM is one of the largest European-based asset managers with 2,700 professionals and €844 billion in assets under management as of the end of December 2023.  

    *****

    This press release is published by AXA Investment Managers Paris (“AXA IM”), in its capacity as alternative investment fund manager (within the meaning of Directive 2011/61/EU, the “AIFM Directive”) of Volta Finance Limited (the “Volta Finance”) whose portfolio is managed by AXA IM.

    This press release is for information only and does not constitute an invitation or inducement to acquire shares in Volta Finance. Its circulation may be prohibited in certain jurisdictions and no recipient may circulate copies of this document in breach of such limitations or restrictions. This document is not an offer for sale of the securities referred to herein in the United States or to persons who are “U.S. persons” for purposes of Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or otherwise in circumstances where such offer would be restricted by applicable law. Such securities may not be sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration from the Securities Act. Volta Finance does not intend to register any portion of the offer of such securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of such securities in the United States.

    *****

    This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (iii) high net worth companies, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). The securities referred to herein are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents. Past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance.

    *****
    This press release contains statements that are, or may deemed to be, “forward-looking statements”. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes”, “anticipated”, “expects”, “intends”, “is/are expected”, “may”, “will” or “should”. They include the statements regarding the level of the dividend, the current market context and its impact on the long-term return of Volta Finance’s investments. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Volta Finance’s actual results, portfolio composition and performance may differ materially from the impression created by the forward-looking statements. AXA IM does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements.

    Any target information is based on certain assumptions as to future events which may not prove to be realised. Due to the uncertainty surrounding these future events, the targets are not intended to be and should not be regarded as profits or earnings or any other type of forecasts. There can be no assurance that any of these targets will be achieved. In addition, no assurance can be given that the investment objective will be achieved.

    The figures provided that relate to past months or years and past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance or construed as a reliable indicator as to future performance. Throughout this review, the citation of specific trades or strategies is intended to illustrate some of the investment methodologies and philosophies of Volta Finance, as implemented by AXA IM. The historical success or AXA IM’s belief in the future success, of any of these trades or strategies is not indicative of, and has no bearing on, future results.

    The valuation of financial assets can vary significantly from the prices that the AXA IM could obtain if it sought to liquidate the positions on behalf of the Volta Finance due to market conditions and general economic environment. Such valuations do not constitute a fairness or similar opinion and should not be regarded as such.

    Editor: AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS PARIS, a company incorporated under the laws of France, having its registered office located at Tour Majunga, 6, Place de la Pyramide – 92800 Puteaux. AXA IMP is authorized by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers under registration number GP92008 as an alternative investment fund manager within the meaning of the AIFM Directive.

    *****

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Global: Social media and generative AI can have a large climate impact – here’s how to reduce yours

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Domenico Vicinanza, Associate Professor of Intelligent Systems and Data Science, Anglia Ruskin University

    CREATIVE WONDER / shutterstock

    On a train or bus, or just standing in a queue, the most common sight these days is the muted glow of a screen, and the flickering thumbs of people lost in the endless scroll on their smartphones.

    Across the world, about 62% of people are active social media users. In some countries, that figure is over 90%. That adds up to a lot of usage: the average UK adult spends 3 hours and 41 minutes online each day, which translates to around 56 days a year, almost two whole months.

    Every time we read an article, see an advertisement, watch a photo or video, that content needs to be transferred from the social media platform’s servers to our device. The larger the file, the more data needs to be transferred. And high-resolution images or long videos involve lots of data.

    That data is distributed across many “server farms” (typically housed in a large warehouse with thousands of computers) around the world. If you load a video from Youtube you don’t connect to a single “Youtube data HQ” somewhere in California, but will instead gather data from many different servers often in different countries or continents.

    Moving data across the internet requires energy, sending signals through various electronic devices, including routers, servers, and our own mobile phone or laptop. Each of these devices consumes energy to function, while servers need to be kept cool. And this energy is often generated from fossil fuels.

    Low-energy LinkedIn tops the charts.
    Greenspector, CC BY-SA

    Tiktok is the least eco-friendly of the social media platforms, according to a study of internet users in France run by Greenspector in 2021 and then updated in 2023.

    Simply scrolling through the app exchanges a lot of data as Tiktok is constantly running videos, including many preloaded in the background that you may never even see.

    At the end side of the spectrum is LinkedIn. As a text-based platform, with fewer photos and videos, scrolling through LinkedIn uses much less data.

    Generative AI is energy-hungry

    Social media is of course not the only offender. Generative AI, with its ability to create text, images, music and even videos, is completely reshaping lots of creative processes. But though it is appealing, and sometimes a necessity, it comes with an environmental price tag.

    Unsurprisingly, the more powerful the AI, the more energy it consumes. Unlike when you stream video or load a large web page, with generative AI most energy is used at their end, while processing your query. If you ask ChatGPT to write you a novel, the process of writing involves lots of calculations, even if the resulting text itself doesn’t use much data.

    Your request is being processed…
    Caureem / shutterstock

    All this of course raises critical questions about the sustainability of generative AI and about our own carbon footprints. The AI companies themselves are reluctant to tell us exactly how much energy they use, but they apparently can’t stop their own chatbots having a stab. I asked ChatGPT-4 “how much energy was used to process this query?” and it said “0.002 to 0.02 kWh”, which it said “would be similar to keeping a 60-watt bulb on for about 2 minutes”.

    This roughly matches numbers offered by independent analysis and is tens of times more energy than required for a Google search. With millions of queries per day to ChatGPT alone, it all adds up to a huge amount of additional energy use. As generative AI continues to evolve, the demand for energy will only increase.

    What you can do

    While the environmental impact of these technologies raises valid concerns, it’s also essential to recognise their benefits. To take one example, AI-assisted tools like text-to-speech, voice recognition and auto-captioning have already made society more inclusive particularly for disabled or neurodiverse people. I don’t want to suggest we scrap social media or reject generative AI entirely.

    But there are things we can do to reduce the carbon footprint of our internet use, involving a combination of individual actions and systemic changes. Here are some strategies we can all adopt:

    First, limit the screen time. This is the most obvious one. Reducing the amount of time spent on social media can directly decrease energy consumption.

    Second, use energy-saving settings on your devices, such as lowering screen brightness, using a dark background, and enabling power-saving modes.

    Third, consider choosing less energy-demanding social media, using environmental ranking information to inform the decision. That means more text, and less video and generative AI.

    Fourth, whenever possible, use wifi over 4G or 5G mobile data: wifi generally consumes less energy.

    So, next time we find ourselves scrolling endless sequences of pictures and videos, our face lit by the blue glow of our screens, let’s just stop for a second and start implementing those simple strategies, so we can enjoy the benefits of being connected, while minimising the impact on our planet resources. Ultimately, the choice is ours.

    Domenico Vicinanza does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    ref. Social media and generative AI can have a large climate impact – here’s how to reduce yours – https://theconversation.com/social-media-and-generative-ai-can-have-a-large-climate-impact-heres-how-to-reduce-yours-240661

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Global: Scott Moe won in Saskatchewan promising economic prosperity, but does that truly help citizens?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Iryna Khovrenkov, Associate Professor, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina

    After winning the recent provincial election, the Saskatchewan Party’s Scott Moe promised a “strong economy, bright future.”

    But does a strong economy necessarily guarantee a bright future?

    Between 1998 and 2018, Saskatchewan’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 45 per cent, making it the fourth largest in Canada.

    Even after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saskatchewan led the nation in economic growth, registering a hike of six per cent.

    Over the same 20 years, however, Saskatchewan’s well-being increased by only 13 per cent, according to the Saskatchewan Index of Wellbeing.

    This lag in well-being has only amplified the struggles of the province’s citizens in terms of drug use, youth mental health, homelessness and hate crimes.

    Evidently, and despite its impressive magnitude, Saskatchewan’s economic growth alone does not fully reflect the province’s progress in terms of citizen well-being.

    What is well-being?

    Well-being is a multi-dimensional concept that goes beyond the level or rate of growth of GDP and can illuminate ongoing major policy challenges. GDP, on the other hand, is one-dimensional, developed prior to the Second World War and well before today’s significant policy concerns.

    As defined by the Saskatchewan Index of Wellbeing, it’s achieved when people are physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy; economically secure; have a strong sense of identity, belonging and place; and have the confidence and capacity to engage as citizens.

    Well-being encompasses many aspects that make our lives good — happiness and wellness at the personal level, strong social capital and belonging at the community level. These aspects can then form a strong foundation to tackle larger issues at the societal level such as social justice and environmental sustainability.

    International well-being initiatives

    Many countries, including Canada with its Canadian Index of Wellbeing, have not only developed well-being frameworks but many now routinely collect and publish well-being indicators.

    A handful of jurisdictions — like France, Italy and Sweden — have also begun including quality-of-life measures as benchmarks of their progress.

    New Zealand even formally budgets for well-being and released its first Wellbeing Budget in 2019.

    Regardless of geography or political structure, one common motivation for developing these well-being frameworks is a recognition that economic metrics such as GDP are insufficient to measure a country’s human and environmental progress.




    Read more:
    Australia’s wellbeing budget: what we can – and can’t – learn from NZ


    A well-being approach to policy

    For an effective path forward, citizen well-being should be a guiding principle for government leaders. Community Initiatives Fund and Heritage Saskatchewan, joint forces behind the Saskatchewan Index of Wellbeing, have long called on decision-makers to incorporate well-being into policy.

    The federal government has recently introduced the Quality-of-Life Framework as its first step towards integrating well-being into policymaking. But are these efforts reaching local governments, which carry a regulatory duty of fostering citizen well-being?

    I partnered with the Community Initiatives Fund and Heritage Saskatchewan to survey more than 25 per cent of rural and urban municipalities in Saskatchewan on what’s facilitated or hindered the adoption of well-being into policy in their communities.

    We learned that only 17 per cent of our participating municipalities adopted a well-being approach in their official community plans, although 55 per cent of them consider community well-being elements when developing policies and budgets.

    Additionally, 46 per cent are interested in adopting a well-being approach but have cited lack of financial and human resources, time, community and team support as key challenges in shifting to a well-being approach.

    Finally, we learned that arts, culture and sports amenities were identified as a pressing community need by 36 per cent of our respondents, compared to only six per cent referencing economic sustainability and growth.

    Our findings also support existing evidence that rural communities become stronger when they value well-being more than economic growth.

    The five elements of a well-being economy. (ICLEI Europe YouTube Channel)

    Municipal action required

    As the government level closest to the people, municipalities matter. Services provided by local authorities define citizens’ well-being and their quality of life. Also, local efforts have the potential to inspire province-wide change.

    With urban municipalities in Saskatchewan gearing up for their own elections on Nov. 13, it’s a good time to consider prioritizing community well-being.

    In the words of Jacinda Ardern, the former prime minister of New Zealand: “Growth alone does not lead to a great country …. so it’s time to focus on those things that do.”

    For real change to occur, well-being should lie at the heart of policymaking.

    The research project about well-being in municipal policy is a product of a partnership between Iryna Khovrenkov at the University of Regina, Tracey Mann at Community Initiatives Fund and Ingrid Cazakoff at Heritage Saskatchewan. The financial support of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Engage Grant number 892-2021-3028 is gratefully acknowledged.

    ref. Scott Moe won in Saskatchewan promising economic prosperity, but does that truly help citizens? – https://theconversation.com/scott-moe-won-in-saskatchewan-promising-economic-prosperity-but-does-that-truly-help-citizens-242574

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Global: New survey finds an alarming tolerance for attacks on the press in the US – particularly among white, Republican men

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Julie Posetti, Global Director of Research, International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and Professor of Journalism, City St George’s, University of London

    Press freedom is a pillar of American democracy. But political attacks on US-based journalists and news organisations pose an unprecedented threat to their safety and the integrity of information.

    Less than 48 hours before election day, Donald Trump told a rally of his supporters that he wouldn’t mind if someone shot the journalists in front of him.

    “I have this piece of glass here, but all we have really over here is the fake news. And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that so much,” he said.

    A new survey from the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) highlights a disturbing tolerance for political bullying of the press in the land of the First Amendment. The findings show that this is especially true among white, male, Republican voters.

    We commissioned this nationally representative survey of 1,020 US adults, which was fielded between June 24 and July 5 2024, to assess Americans’ attitudes to the press ahead of the election. We are publishing the results here for the first time.

    More than one-quarter (27%) of the Americans we polled said they had often seen or heard a journalist being threatened, harassed or abused online. And more than one-third (34%) said they thought it was appropriate for senior politicians and government officials to criticise journalists and news organisations.

    Tolerance for attacks on the press appears as politically polarised as American society. Nearly half (47%) of the Republicans surveyed approved of senior politicians critiquing the press, compared to less than one-quarter (22%) of Democrats.

    Our analysis also revealed divisions according to gender and ethnicity. While 37% of white-identifying respondents thought it was appropriate for political leaders to target journalists and news organisations, only 27% of people of colour did. There was also a nine-point difference along gender lines, with 39% of men approving of this conduct, compared to 30% of women.

    It appears intolerance towards the press has a face – a predominantly white, male and Republican-voting face.

    Press freedom fears

    This election campaign, Trump has repeated his blatantly false claim that journalists are “enemies of the people”. He has suggested that reporters who cross him should be jailed, and signalled that he would like to revoke broadcast licences of networks.

    Relevant, too, is the enabling environment for viral attacks on journalists created by unregulated social media companies which represent a clear threat to press freedom and the safety of journalists. Previous research produced by ICFJ for Unesco concluded that there was a causal relationship between online violence towards women journalists and physical attacks.


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    While political actors may be the perpetrators of abuse targeting journalists, social media companies have facilitated their viral spread, heightening the risk to journalists.

    We’ve seen a potent example of this in the current campaign, when Haitian Times editor Macollvie J. Neel was “swatted” – meaning police were dispatched to her home after a fraudulent report of a murder at the address – during an episode of severely racist online violence.

    The trigger? Her reporting on Trump and JD Vance amplifying false claims that Haitian immigrants were eating their neighbours’ pets.

    Trajectory of Trump attacks

    Since the 2016 election, Trump has repeatedly discredited independent reporting on his campaign. He has weaponised the term “fake news” and accused the media of “rigging” elections.

    “The election is being rigged by corrupt media pushing completely false allegations and outright lies in an effort to elect [Hillary Clinton] president,” he said in 2016. With hindsight, such accusations foreshadowed his false claims of election fraud in 2020, and similar preemptive claims in 2024.

    His increasingly virulent attacks on journalists and news organisations are amplified by his supporters online and far-right media. Trump has effectively licensed attacks on American journalists through anti-press rhetoric and undermined respect for press freedom.

    In 2019, the Committee to Protect Journalists found that more than 11% of 5,400 tweets posted by Trump between the date of his 2016 candidacy and January 2019 “…insulted or criticised journalists and outlets, or condemned and denigrated the news media as a whole”.

    After being temporarily deplatformed from Twitter for breaching community standards, Trump launched Truth Social, where he continues to abuse his critics uninterrupted. But he recently rejoined the platform (now X), and held a series of campaign events with X owner and Trump backer Elon Musk.

    The failed insurrection on January 6 2021 rammed home the scale of the escalating threats facing American journalists. During the riots at the Capitol, at least 18 journalists were assaulted and reporting equipment valued at tens of thousands of dollars was destroyed.

    This election cycle, Reporters Without Borders logged 108 instances of Trump insulting, attacking or threatening the news media in public speeches or offline remarks over an eight-week period ending on October 24.

    Meanwhile, the Freedom of the Press Foundation has recorded 75 assaults on journalists since January 1 this year. That’s a 70% increase on the number of assaults captured by their press freedom tracker in 2023.

    A recent survey of hundreds of journalists undertaking safety training provided by the International Women’s Media Foundation found that 36% of respondents reported being threatened with or experiencing physical violence. One-third reported exposure to digital violence, and 28% reported legal threats or action against them.

    US journalists involved in ongoing ICFJ research have told us that they have felt particularly at risk covering Trump rallies and reporting on the election from communities hostile towards the press. Some are wearing protective flak jackets to cover domestic politics. Others have removed labels identifying their outlets from their reporting equipment to reduce the risk of being physically attacked.

    And yet, our survey reveals a distinct lack of public concern about the First Amendment implications of political leaders threatening, harassing, or abusing journalists. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of Americans surveyed did not regard political attacks on journalists or news organisations as a threat to press freedom. Among them, 38% identified as Republicans compared to just 9%* as Democrats.

    The anti-press playbook

    Trump’s anti-press playbook appeals to a global audience of authoritarians. Other political strongmen, from Brazil to Hungary and the Philippines, have adopted similar tactics of deploying disinformation to smear and threaten journalists and news outlets.

    Such an approach imperils journalists while undercutting trust in facts and critical independent journalism.

    History shows that fascism thrives when journalists can not safely and freely do the work of holding governments and political leaders to account. As our research findings show, the consequences are a society accepting lies and fiction as facts while turning a blind eye to attacks on the press.

    *The people identifying as Democrats in this sub-group are too few to make this a reliable representative estimate.


    Note: Nabeelah Shabbir (ICFJ Deputy Director of Research) and Kaylee Williams (ICFJ Research Associate) also contributed to this article and the research underpinning it. The survey was conducted by Langer Research Associates in English and Spanish. ICFJ researchers co-developed the survey and conducted the analysis.

    Julie Posetti receives research funding via ICFJ from the Scripps Howard Fund, Luminate, the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the Gates Foundation and the US State Department.

    Waqas Ejaz works as Post-doc Research Fellow at University of Oxford as well as a Senior Research Associate at ICFJ.

    ref. New survey finds an alarming tolerance for attacks on the press in the US – particularly among white, Republican men – https://theconversation.com/new-survey-finds-an-alarming-tolerance-for-attacks-on-the-press-in-the-us-particularly-among-white-republican-men-242719

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI: WISDOMTREE MULTI ASSET ISSUER PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY (a public company incorporated with limited liability in Ireland) WISDOMTREE GOLD 3X DAILY SHORT SECURITIES ISIN: IE00B6X4BP29

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    4 November 2024

    LSE Code: 3GOS

    WISDOMTREE MULTI ASSET ISSUER PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY
    (a public company incorporated with limited liability in Ireland)
    WISDOMTREE GOLD 3X DAILY SHORT SECURITIES ISIN: IE00B6X4BP29

    RESULTS OF MEETING OF THE ETP SECURITYHOLDERS

    WisdomTree Multi Asset Issuer Public Limited Company (the “Issuer”) wishes to announce that the Extraordinary Resolution regarding the reduction in the principal amount of the WisdomTree Gold 3x Daily Short Securities (the “Affected Securities”) from USD 2 to USD 0.2, as set out in a notice to holders of the Affected Securities dated 18 September 2024, was passed at an adjourned meeting of the holders of the Affected Securities held at 11am on 4 November 2024.

    As a result, the Deed of Amendment has been duly executed by the Issuer, the Manager and the Trustee to put the proposed amendments to the Trust Deed into effect from 4 November 2024.

    The MIL Network