Like rivals, including Spain's BBVA and BNP Paribas which slashed provisions, the lender said its cost of risk - that reflects provisions against loan loss - was down 66.8%, while revenue rose by 18.8%
The acquisition allows the Italian arm of France's no.2 bank to double its market share in Italy's wealthiest areas when at a time when the country's fragmented banking sector is consolidating.
The bid was conditional on the two-thirds threshold which guarantees approval of extraordinary shareholder resolutions at meetings, allowing Credit Agricole Italia to absorb Creval and maximise projected savings.
The Italian arm of Credit Agricole in November said it would spend 737 million euros ($868 million), or 10.5 euros per share, on Creval to expand its presence in Italy's consolidating banking sector, its biggest market outside France.
DGFD, which owns around 6% of the Italian bank, joins a number of other Creval shareholders who already rejected the offer as too low.
The pound fell on Tuesday, losing 0.6% against the dollar and over 1% against the euro - its worst day against the single currency in five weeks as investors took cash off the table.
Against the euro, it traded 0.7% lower to the euro at 86.50 pence, having hit a five-week low of 86.62 pence.
Santander, which did not disclose the value of the deal, expects to close it by mid-2021, pending regulatory approval.
Banks in Europe are grappling with the effects from ultra low interest rates and the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and are diversifying into more profitable businesses, such as wealth management, with higher, stable fee incomes.
"We are a highly provisioned group. This has been part of the group's culture for a very long time," Credit Agricole SA Chief Executive Officer Philippe Brassac told reporters.
The changes will give Agos additional opportunities to further expand its client base and improve its cost of funding.
The changes to an 2018 agreement include an up to 24-month extension - to July 2023 - of a deadline for Banco BPM to exercise a put option on a 10% stake in Agos at the previously agreed strike price of 150 million euros ($183 million).
The Italian division of France's Credit Agricole last month offered 10.50 euro ($12.84) a share to buy the Italian lender for an overall investment of 737 million euros.