On November 26, 2009, Calyon acted as the lead bank in the launch of a EUR 4 billion bond issue on behalf of Unédic. This three-year issue carried a rate of 2.234%. The order book was closed after just one hour.

Unédic is faced with an increase in unemployment and the resulting cumulative deficit of unemployment insurance. This deficit amounted to EUR 4,992 million at the end of 2008 and is expected to reach EUR 5,893 million in 2009 and EUR 9,512 million in 2010.

In order to finance this deficit, Unédic doubled its commercial paper capacity to EUR 6 billion and announced a multiple-tranche bond issuance plan. This first tranche allows Unédic to ensure its financing without having recourse to a government guarantee.

Calyon is one of the closest banks to Unedic and was at the origins of the launch. The other lead banks for this transaction were BNP Paribas, HSBC and Natixis.

"Banks are increasingly expected to become involved in the financing of social protection as a back-up and complement to governments. The field to cover is vast, ranging from healthcare to retirement and from financing to the management of payment flows. With this deal, Calyon proves its desire to be a leading player in this sector, in line with the mutual and social origins of Crédit Agricole", explains François-Xavier Bordeaux, Senior Banker.