The Crédit Commercial de France logo will soon reappear

With the aim of refocusing its activity on the Asian continent, the British HSBC is selling – for an undisclosed amount – its retail banking network in France to the company My Money Group, owned by the American investment fund Cerberus.

The operation concerns some 3,500 employees, 250 agencies, 800,000 customers and, therefore, the Crédit Commercial de France brand which the new American owner intends to bring out of the box and revalue to retain the loyalty of its French customers. A well-intended marketing coup, CCF blue is gradually replacing HSBC red on storefronts across France. France where Crédit Commercial was founded in 1894.

Intended for high assets

The objective is to create a wealth bank, a private establishment which focuses on managing the specific needs of people or companies with high wealth. The new CCF will therefore focus on a clientele of professionals, liberals and independents such as doctors and lawyers. The buyer, My Money Group, is working on this concept under the leadership of the designated general manager who has taken the reins of this 21st century CCF. His name is Niccolo Ubertalli, a former member of the Italian bank Unicredit.

The transfer of HSBC agencies to CCF is both expected and feared by employee unions. Expected because many employees will not regret the old management; feared because it is the change for the unknown: the new owner, My Money Bank, belongs to the American Cerberus which is what we call a “vulture” fund, an investment company specializing in buyouts low price of corporate debt with the aim of obtaining capital gain in the long term. To put it plainly, financial arrangements that are not reassuring. For the record, in Greek mythology, Cerberus is the three-headed dog who guards the gate to the underworld. The new management must roll out a three-year recovery plan and remains very discreet on strategic details for the moment.