revolutionizes SoYou, the financial company that it launched three years ago together with Bankia and where it remained as sole partner last year after the bank’s merger with . It has decided to rename it and give it the name of its financial company in France Sofinco, with the aim of growing and increasing its market share among financial credit institutions from the current 2% to 5% on the horizon of the year 2025.
As a previous step and it has completed up to three capital increases for a total volume of 60 million euros, which place its capital at 112 million, and it will complete its product catalog throughout 2022. It will include personal loans in its offer in the second quarter of the year, cards and credits for the summer and different financing products for automobiles throughout the year.
“It is a firm and solid commitment to a strategic market for Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance, such as Spain,” said Pierre Adam, CEO of Sofinco Spain, today during the presentation of the new strategy.
Sofinco is the brand with which Crédit Agricole has financed French consumers for 70 years, with a market share of 13% and 4.8 million customers. SoYou has adherents in Spain and a business portfolio of 300 million euros.
The intention declared by the manager is to turn the company into one of the main entities in what is the fourth country in continental Europe in consumer financing. It currently offers financing at the point of sale, a line of credit for car stock, personal loans through platforms and financing for e-commerce, which will be completed with direct digital loans and cards, together with products for cars (leasing, renting and balloon ).
The executive expressed the desire to promote and develop all the business areas of Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance under its “leader” brand, so that they transmit “reliability and trust to consumers”, but also take advantage of the synergies that the use of the Sofinco name can entail.
Specifically, he slipped out that Sofinco works and has agreements with international brands such as Fnac, Ikea or in automobiles with Mazda and Tesla, and they intend to see how these relationships could potentially be transferred to the Spanish market. What it does rule out at this time is replicating the original structure with alliances with other banks, which become partners in the financial institution.
Adam was convinced that “brand awareness makes the difference.” “The new brand will bring more synergies while maintaining our independence and autonomy from the consumer finance business in Spain,” he said.
They reinforce the commitment when they estimate that the consumer credit business could grow between 4 and 5% this year and see clear expansion opportunities in niches, for example, car financing, even due to a change from the habit of buying to of use of leasing or also due to changes in energy consumption towards more sustainable energies.
The Crédit Agricole group, in addition to consumer credit, is also present in Spain through different lines of business: corporate and investment banking, asset management, leasing and factoring, wealth management, custody and insurance.
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