Does the fact that the company is not listed play a role?
It's true that, at our bank, it's not "one share equals one vote" but really "one person equals one vote". And it's still very strong. I think that permeates all the decisions that Crédit Mutuel can make.
You emphasize solidarity among the banks. How is that expressed practically?
For example, there is a bank development plan: when we at Crédit Mutuel Anjou recently created Crédit Mutuel des Professions de Santé (Crédit Mutuel for healthcare professions), all the other banks supported this new bank which, in the beginning, had no customers. They lent their support by sharing costs. If a colleague has a customer who would be better served at this new bank, he/she will steer the customer toward Caisse des Professions de Santé. There’s no internal competition as in many other companies.
We have a work atmosphere where, when a colleague asks for help with something, it's very satisfying to help him or her. There’s an exchange of expertise. It's the same with the banks: there’s no internal competition among them. On the contrary.
If profitability is not your main criterion, what is?
For me, it's really our customers' satisfaction. If our customers are satisfied, they will stay with us and a more lasting relationship of trust will be built. For the employees, knowing that we have customers who have trusted us for decades is important. There is a long-term relationship of trust that is created. That’s very gratifying and a real recognition of the work done.