PARIS, May 6 (Reuters) - Credit Agricole reported on Wednesday a 16.4% decline in quarterly profit, as France’s second-biggest listed bank almost tripled the amount of provisions to protect itself from potential loan defaults caused by the coronavirus crisis.
Net profit slid to 638 million euros ($691.40 million) from 763 million a year ago. Revenue rose by 7.1% to 5.2 billion euros.
Its cost of risk, which reflects provisions against potential loan losses, rose to 621 million euros from 225 million euros a year ago. “Our results are good, and allowed us, this quarter, to absorb a multiplication of the cost of risk by three,” Chief Executive Philippe Brassac said in a news release, adding that the bank was prudent in its assumptions.
$1 = 0.9228 euros Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva and Marc Angrand; Editing by Peter Cooney
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