Credit Agricole has completed a simplification of its structure that puts more capital into the listed arm of the business, allowing it to set a minimum dividend level for next year and expand its asset management arm Amundi.
The overhaul comes after the French bank sold assets and pulled out of markets such as Greece to recover from losses and meet tougher regulations in the wake of the financial crisis.
It has said it will now focus on its two key markets, France and Italy, limiting foreign expansion to Amundi, which wants to buy Italian bank Unicredit's Pioneer arm.
Credit Agricole, majority owned by a network of co-operative regional lenders, said on Tuesday third-quarter net income doubled to 1.86 billion euros ($2.1 billion) - higher than analysts' mean forecast of 1.70 billion euros in a Reuters poll.
The result included a well-flagged 1.25 billion-euro gain from a plan called 'Eureka' that simplifies the complex cross-shareholding structure between Credit Agricole's listed entity and its co-operative parent banks.
The transaction, which in exchange for the cash hands full control of the regional banks back to themselves, helped the listed lender boost its common equity tier 1 capital ratio, a key indicator of its ability to absorb losses, to 12 percent from 11.2 percent at the end of June.
The bank said it intended to recommend in May 2017 a dividend of 0.60 euro per share for its 2016 results, based on a 50 percent payout rate, and not to lower the dividend in 2017 relative to 2016.
Credit Agricole told analysts the dividend guidance would not be jeopardised by the cost of Pioneer, a business that would give Amundi more access to Italy, Germany, Austria. Credit Agricole Group owns 75.5 percent of Amundi.
Credit Agricole's revenue in the third quarter, however, came in below analysts' forecasts, falling to 3.74 billion euros from 3.92 billion a year earlier.
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