Shares in Crédit Agricole rose strongly on Thursday after it reported better-than-expected net profits in the second quarter, helped by resilient sales in its retail and asset management businesses and lower asset writedowns.

France’s third-largest bank said it made net profit of €201m ($286m), flat on the first three months of the year but well ahead of analysts’ expectations, suggesting it had turned the corner on the subprime crisis while delivering resilient retail sales.