HSBC 2001 Annual Report Download - page 16

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC
Description of Business (continued)
14
Crédit Commercial de France
Acquired in 2000, Crédit Commercial de France is
the fourth-largest non-mutual bank in France and is
HSBC’s flagship in continental Europe, with
businesses in personal, corporate and investment
banking, asset management and private banking.
Headquartered in Paris, CCF serves over one million
personal customers and important corporate and
institutional business clients and has a significant
presence in other European markets. CCF has a
network of 778 branches in France, 94 more than in
2000. At 31 December 2001, CCF’s total assets were
US$62 billion, total customer deposits were US$23
billion and total net customer loans were US$26
billion under UK GAAP.
CCF’s strategy is to focus on the fastest growing
and most profitable market segments. CCF is a
leading bank in ‘mass affluent’ personal retail
banking in France, with more than 80 per cent of its
clients concentrated in middle and upper income
brackets and 90 per cent of its branches in France
concentrated in the four regions with the highest
growth potential for banking activity: Paris, Rhône-
Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’ Azur and Languedoc
Roussillon. In corporate banking, CCF concentrates
on the most profitable high added-value segments of
the market. In asset management and private
banking, CCF has specific subsidiaries dedicated to
serving the most profitable client categories in the
highest added-value sectors.
CCF’s retail and commercial banking operations
comprise the parent company CCF, with 215
branches, and a network of ten regional banks, with a
total of 563 branches. Each regional bank operates in
a specific geographical area, under its own brand
name, with very strong local positions. During 2001,
CCF acquired 97.9 per cent of Banque Hervet from
the French state, a retail bank with 87 branches,
which enhances its position mainly in the Parisian
region.
CCF offers products and services through a
number of complementary distribution channels,
including online, telephone and mobile phone
banking. CCF’s online brokerage service was
launched in 1999, providing CCF customers and
non-customers alike with trading opportunities on
the Paris Bourse and financial information including
stock quotes, French and international newswires and
research. CCF’s online credit company, Netvalor,
offers credit for large household purchases directly to
consumers through its dedicated consumer credit
site, 123credit.com.
CCF networks also offer high quality products
and services to medium-sized French corporates and,
in the regional subsidiaries, to entrepreneurs. CCF
offers its customers a number of online account
management products and services, including trade
account management, business intelligence,
centralised corporate treasury management,
electronic payments systems and the recovery of
unpaid receivables, all branded under its ‘Elys’
product line. In addition, CCF provides secure
payment facilities that permit merchants to manage
order and inventory functions and conduct bank
transactions simultaneously.
CCF provides equipment and finance leasing
through Loxxia, a joint venture with Crédit Lyonnais,
which has approximately 10 per cent of the French
leasing market.
Through its Corporate Banking division, CCF
offers account management, credit, cash
management and stock custody services to the 50
largest French institutional and corporate groups and
to international clients. The Corporate Banking
division is very active in providing trade financing,
export credit facilities and financing backed by
public and private sector credit support.
CCF provides equity and corporate finance
services, with teams integrated within HSBC. CCF
advises on transactions involving notably French,
British and international clients across a wide range
of industries including retailing, chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, utilities, steel, aerospace,
automobiles, banking, finance and insurance,
electronics and entertainment. CCF has been one of
the most active French banks advising on
privatisations in France and in emerging markets in
Africa and Eastern Europe, where it has built a
strong reputation. CCF is actively involved in
significant debt and equity offerings, including initial
public offerings on the Paris Bourse. CCF also
actively provides asset financing as well as
structured financing for well-known corporates.
Through a specialised subsidiary, CCF provides
investment advice and third-party fund management
in connection with commercial and residential real
estate investment. This subsidiary is involved in the
UK Government’s public-private partnership
programme, with specific mandates ranging from
hospital to communications services.