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Crédit Agricole in ‘Advanced’ Talks on U.S. Sanctions Settlement

A Crédit Agricole building in Geneva.Credit...Denis Balibouse/Reuters

LONDON — Crédit Agricole, one of the biggest banks in France, said on Tuesday that its profit increased in the second quarter and that it was in “very advanced stage” talks to settle investigations into whether it processed payments for countries and individuals facing sanctions by the United States.

The bank, based in Paris, said its discussions with the Justice Department, the Manhattan district attorney’s office and other United States authorities were continuing and “are likely to lead to a global settlement in the autumn 2015.”

As a result, Crédit Agricole said that it was setting aside an additional provision of 350 million euros, or about $384 million, for a potential settlement. The bank has set aside €1.6 billion in total litigation provisions.

If a settlement occurs, Crédit Agricole would be the latest European bank to reach a deal with the American authorities in a long-running investigation into whether lenders allowed prohibited individuals and countries to gain access to the American financial system.

Last year, BNP Paribas, the biggest French bank, pleaded guilty to criminal charges and paid a record $8.9 billion penalty to federal and state authorities after it was accused of hiding the names of Sudanese and Iranian clients when sending transactions through its New York operations from at least 2002 to 2012.

Commerzbank of Germany agreed in March to pay $1.5 billion and dismiss some employees after it was accused of processing hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of blacklisted Iranian companies.

Deutsche Bank of Germany, Société Générale of France and UniCredit of Italy also are facing investigations over whether they allowed foreign clients facing sanctions to move money through their New York offices.

In the second quarter, Crédit Agricole reported a profit of €920 million, up from €77 million in the period a year earlier.

The second quarter of 2014 included a charge of €708 million related to a write-down of its stake in the Portuguese bank Banco Espírito Santo, which was split up last year as part of a €4.9 billion rescue plan.

Revenue rose 18 percent, to €4.63 billion, in the quarter.

Operating expenses rose 4 percent, to €2.79 billion.

In the corporate and investment banking business, profit declined 71 percent, to €82 million, in the second quarter, from €283 million in the period a year earlier. The quarterly results were affected by the additional provision for the sanctions inquiry.

At the same time, Philippe Brassac, who was named chief executive this year, announced a reorganization of Crédit Agricole’s structure, grouping the company into four business lines.

As part of the reorganization, Yves Perrier, the chief executive of its money-management business Amundi, will oversee a new division that includes the bank’s asset management, insurance and property activities. Amundi is expected to pursue an initial public offering of shares this year.

Michel Mathieu, a deputy managing director, will head the bank’s new consumer division, which includes its international retail banking business and the LCL branch network in France.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Settlement Talks. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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