Crelan is a Belgium bank and insurance company with roots in agricultural lending. The bank is a universal bank providing services throughout Belgium. The bank and brand were established after the merger of Landbouwkrediet / Crédit Agricole and Centea in 2013.
 Crelan head office in Anderlecht | |
| Industry | Financial services |
|---|---|
| Predecessors | Landbouwkrediet/Crédit Agricole and Centea |
| Founded | 1937 as Landbouwkrediet, merged in 2013 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Belgium |
Key people | Philippe Voisin (CEO) |
| Products | Banking services, insurance |
| €70.3 million (2019) | |
| Owner | 275,657 cooperative shareholders |
Number of employees | 2,939 including branches (2019) |
| Subsidiaries | Europabank |
| Website | www |
The bank was 50 percent owned by the French Crédit Agricole at the time of the merger. In June 2015 Crelan again became 100% Belgian owned cooperative bank, owned by its clients. As of 2018[update], Crelan Group had 919,887 customers, approximately 600 branches, and made a net profit of €66 million.
In 2012 Crelan was designated a significant Institution under the criteria of European Banking Supervision, and as a consequence is directly supervised by the European Central Bank.[1]
History
editIts 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 (IFRS) with a net result of €52 million. In the following years it acquired Europabank and Keytrade Bank. In 2016 Keytrade bank was sold 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).[2] The acquisition, was completed in December 2021 making Crelan Belgium's fifth-largest lender.[3][4]
Sponsorship
editSince 2001 the bank has sponsored several professional cycling teams, which hosted three world champions, Sven Nys, Wout van Aert and Sanne Cant.
References
edit- ^ "List of supervised entities" (PDF). European Central Bank. 1 January 2023.
- ^ Benoit Van Overstraeten (October 25, 2019), French insurer AXA to sell its Belgian bank for $689 mln Reuters.
- ^ "AXA has completed the sale of AXA Bank Belgium | AXA". AXA.com. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
- ^ Benoit Van Overstraeten (October 25, 2019), French insurer AXA to sell its Belgian bank for $689 mln Reuters.
