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The mutual banking division or the regulatory scope
The mutual banking division consists of the 14 federations Crédit Mutuel Centre-Est Europe, Sud-Est, Ile-de-France, Savoie-Mont Blanc, Crédit Mutuel Midi-Atlantique, Crédit Mutuelt Centre, Dauphiné Vivarais, Loire-Atlantique et Centre-Ouest, Méditerranéen, Normandie, Anjou, Massif Central, Antilles Guyane, Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe and the local cooperative banks which are members of their respective federations; and Caisse Fédérale de Crédit Mutuel (CF de CM). The mutual banking division owns more than 98% of BFCM.
The Caisses de Crédit Mutuel (the “CCM”), which are local cooperative banks, are the lowest-level units of the banking network of the mutual banking division, also known as the Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale banking and insurance network. The local cooperative banks, under the control of their respective shareholding members, are registered as either variable capital credit cooperative companies with limited liability or as cooperative associations with limited liability. Each local cooperative bank operates independently and provides local banking services.
The federations, entities with the status of associations and in which membership is compulsory for the local cooperative banks, are the policy-making bodies that set the Group’s strategic direction andfoster cohesiveness among the local cooperative banks. The Caisses de Crédit Mutuel, the ACM Vie mutual companies and the federations, collectively own Caisse Fédérale de Crédit Mutuel (CF de CM). The CF de CM is a corporation with the status of a cooperative banking company ("société anonyme à statut de société coopérative de banque") and has overall responsibility for the delivery and coordination of the services common to the network. CF de CM centralizes all the funds held on deposit by the local cooperative banks while at the same timerefinancing them and allocating funds on their behalf as required by regulations (mandatory reserves, assigned deposits, etc.).
The capital division or BFCM’s Group holds :
- The Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel, holding de Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, that holds the Crédit Industriel et Commercial (CIC) up to 100% (direct and indirect detention) that also handles investment, financing and market actitivies ;
- the Crédit Industriel et Commercial up to 100% (direct and indirect detention), holding of the group CIC and leading network that also handles investment, financing and market actitivies ;
- Specialized institution by business lines both in France and abroad
The current configuration of the BFCM Group is the result of restructuring operations carried out in 1992. The restructuring was intended to clarify the functions performed by the BFCM Group’s various entities by distinguishing the cooperative activities of BFCM’s parent entities, being the local cooperative banks, CF de CM and the 11 federations, from the diversified operations of BFCM.
BFCM owns and coordinates the activities of its subsidiaries within the BFCM Group. These subsidiaries are active in finance, insurance, electronic banking and information technology. BFCM performs the central refinancing functions of the Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale. It is responsible for financial relations with large corporates and local authorities through its payment processing and lending and activities. BFCM also acts as custodian for investment funds.
BFCM, CIC, GACM and their various institutions specialized by business line all make up BFCM Group.