Credit Mutuel Logo

Crédit Mutuel traces its roots to Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, who founded a cooperative loan bank in Heddesdorf, Germany, in 1864. His model was based on mutual responsibility, equal membership, and no personal profit. On February 27, 1882, while Alsace and Lorraine were part of the German Empire, 16 residents of Wantzenau, near Strasbourg, established the region’s first mutual credit bank using the Raiffeisen system.

By the end of 1882, Alsace had 17 similar banks, and within ten years the number reached 127. They served farmers and small entrepreneurs who were often excluded by traditional lenders or faced harsh credit terms. After World War I, Alsace and Lorraine returned to France. In 1919, the network’s central bank became the Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel, while some local banks joined Crédit Agricole.

After World War II, the law of September 10, 1947, gave local banks cooperative status. The decree of October 16, 1958, defined mutual banking in France and set the structure of local banks, regional federations, and a national confederation. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Crédit Mutuel expanded across France. In 1970-1971, it created Assurances du Crédit Mutuel and became an early force in bancassurance.

In 1998, BFCM acquired a 67% stake in CIC, one of France’s oldest commercial banks, and bought the remaining stake from Groupama in 2001. In 2008, it acquired Citibank Germany, which was later renamed Targobank, and gained consumer credit rights through Cofidis. The group later formed Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, bought General Electric’s leasing and factoring business in France and Germany in 2016, and completed the OLB acquisition in Germany in January 2026, competing with BNP Paribas and Société Générale.