Crelan was introduced as the bank brand after the merger of ''Landbouwkrediet'' / ''Crédit Agricole'' and ''Centea''. It is a
Belgian bank with roots in
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...
. It is part of Crelan Group, which was 50 percent owned by the
Crédit Agricole Group. At the time, KBC and BNP Paribas were the other main shareholders. The arrival of a new bank brand will strengthen the group, in particular the group’s online banking and the “Customer Protection” area. Through this acquisition, the new group intends to address the segment of the Belgian population that currently uses unbranded, incomplete financial services. In June 2015 Crelan became again a 100% Belgian cooperative bank, owned by its clients. In 2018 Crelan Group had 919.887 customers and +/- 600 branches, and made a net profit of €66 million.
History
Its
retail banking and commercial enterprises have grown to equal its agricultural interests. In 2006, the bank reported a growth rate of 49%, according to
International Financial Reporting Standards
International Financial Reporting Standards, commonly called IFRS, are accounting standards issued by the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They constitute a standardised way of describing the company's fin ...
(IFRS) with a net result of
€52 million. In recent years it acquired and
Keytrade Bank
Keytrade Bank is a financial services company based in Belgium with a subsidiary in Luxembourg.
History
VMS-Keytrade, Belgium's first online investment site, was founded in 1998. In 2002, VMS-Keytrade became Keytrade Bank and acquired its b ...
(sold in 2016 to CM ARKEA). Landbouwkrediet was officially recognized as a bank insurance company in 2007, further strengthening its market position.
In 2019, Crelan announced its intention to acquire AXA Bank Belgium, the Belgian banking business of French insurer
AXA, for 620 million euros ($688.51 million). The acquisition, which closed in December 2021 makes Crelan Belgium's fifth-largest lender.
[Benoit Van Overstraeten (October 25, 2019)]
French insurer AXA to sell its Belgian bank for $689 mln
''Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was est ...
''.
Sponsoring
Since 2001 the bank has sponsored several professional
cycling team
A cycling team is a group of cycle sport, cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle racing, bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important i ...
s, which hosted two world champions, Sven Nys, Wout Van Aert and Sanne Cant.
References
External links
*{{official website, http://www.crelan.be/
Banks of Belgium