Two terms to differentiate themselves, but the same basic idea announced at the start of 2023 by the mutual bank Crédit Mutuel and the insurer MAIF. The two entities will respectively set up a “societal” dividend and an “ecological” dividend, in order to finance “social, environmental and local initiatives”. Crédit Mutuel is particularly generous, with 15% of its net profit which will now be devoted to the fight against global warming and inequalities. This equates to approximately 500 million euros per year. “We are very effective in making money and we are going to put this efficiency at the service of the common good, of collective utility”, declared Nicolas Théry, president of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, which brings together CIC and 14 of the 18 Crédit Mutuel regional federations. This measure, which will be effective within the year, is also a projection, since it will represent an investment envelope of just over 2 billion euros in the group’s 2027 strategic plan.
Investments with no return objective
La Maif, through its president Yves Pellicier, announced a similar project, but less endowed. “Faced with the seriousness of climate change and the biodiversity crisis, faced with the urgency to act massively, we are taking a new step. We have decided to allocate 10% of our annual result to the planet from now on”, did he declare. The mutual mentioned the financing of “concrete ecological actions, united in connection with its profession of insurer”, detailing the examples of “the regeneration of biodiversity and aid for the most vulnerable members”. On France InterThursday, January 5, the director general of the Maif, Pascal Demurger, made a point of stressing that “the fact of being a large company gave greater responsibility”.
Crédit Mutuel will invest half of the sums of the societal dividend in an Environmental and Solidarity Revolution Fund, which will, according to its president, “no return objective”. The rest will be distributed as follows: one third will be dedicated to price inclusion for customers and members, and 15% will go to the Crédit Mutuel Alliance Foundation, which plays the role of patronage. The latter will see its budget multiplied by ten, from 6.5 to 60 million.
Two concrete initiatives that could look like encouragement, while France needs an envelope of between 80 and 120 billion euros to cover the expenses necessary for its ecological transition. To date, according to Daniel Baal, the managing director of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, questioned on 5 January by BFM Businessonly 0.5% of net profits are donated to social causes.