PARIS, May 22 (Reuters) – Credit Agricole has
renewed a request for the Greek Central Bank to grant its
Emporiki unit access to a liquidity facility, which has been
made available to some other local banks, the French bank’s
chief executive said on Tuesday.

Jean-Paul Chifflet said the request was part of a wider
range of measures aimed at reducing its potential exposure to
Greece, including 1.6 billion euros ($2.04 billion) in European
Central Bank financing for Emporiki.

PARIS, May 15 (Reuters) – France’s biggest banks are likely
to cut thousands more jobs, catching up with European rivals as
they grapple with a slowing economy, weak capital markets and a
looming regulatory clampdown by new Socialist president Francois
Hollande.

Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Credit
Agricole announced a first wave of layoffs, mainly in
investment bank and consumer credit businesses, late last year.

PARIS (Reuters) – Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is prepared for all possible outcomes in Greece, the French bank’s chief executive said, after charges at its business in the debt-laden country helped trigger a steeper-than-expected 75 percent drop in quarterly profit.

Jean-Paul Chifflet told reporters on Friday the bank had teams working to prepare for outcomes including a possible Greek exit from the euro zone even if it still regards that as a less probable scenario.

PARIS, May 11 (Reuters) – Credit Agricole is
prepared for all possible outcomes in Greece, the French bank’s
chief executive said, after charges at its business in the
debt-laden country helped trigger a steeper-than-expected 75
percent drop in quarterly profit.

Jean-Paul Chifflet told reporters on Friday the bank had
teams working to prepare for outcomes including a possible Greek
exit from the euro zone even if it still regards that as a less
probable scenario.

PARIS, May 9 (Reuters) – French bank Natixis
posted a less-than-expected 30 percent drop in quarterly
earnings on Wednesday as increasing asset management revenues
helped offset writedowns on Greek sovereign bonds and an
accounting adjustment on its own debt.

Natixis, an investment bank and asset manager controlled by
unlisted cooperative lender BPCE, reported first-quarter net
profit excluding exceptional items of 339 million euros ($438.4
million), down from 483 million in the year-ago period.

PARIS (Reuters) – Credit Agricole shares slumped to an all-time low on Monday as Greek elections revived concern about a possible exit from the euro zone and the effect such a move would have on the French bank’s Emporiki unit.

Credit Agricole shares were 6 percent lower at 3.43 euros, bringing their decline so far this year to 21 percent. The shares are now at their lowest level since the bank’s initial public offering in December 2001.

PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) – For Henri Proglio, outspoken chief executive of French utility EDF (EDF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a victory for Socialist Party candidate Francois Hollande in Sunday’s presidential poll could prove particularly costly.

Proglio, who earned 1.6 million euros ($2.1 million) last year, could be one of the most prominent victims of the cap on CEO pay at state-controlled companies Hollande advocates, but many more top French executives will also have a wary eye on the forthcoming vote.

PARIS, April 25 (Reuters) – The best thing for Credit
Agricole may be to put its Cheuvreux brokerage arm out
of its misery but that’s not likely, leaving France’s No. 3 bank
with limited options for the loss-making unit.

Cheuvreux lost a potential lifeline last month when China’s
Citic Securities dropped plans to acquire a 20
percent stake in the unit, instead setting its sights on buying
all of the lender’s CLSA Asian brokerage.

PARIS (Reuters) – A weak showing for conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round of French elections further spooked investors already on edge about European governments’ ability to manage their debt, pressuring French bonds and stocks on Monday.

Socialist favorite Francois Hollande came out on top with 28.6 percent, making Sarkozy, on 27.2 percent, the first sitting president to find himself behind after the first round.

PARIS, April 10 (Reuters) – When oil independent Det Norske
was looking for a 4.5 billion Norwegian crown ($792 million)
credit line in 2010, it turned to French bank BNP Paribas
, a long-time top-ranked energy lender, as lead
arranger.

But last month when the exploration and production firm
looked to borrow $500 million, BNP was nowhere to be found,
replaced by Nordic lenders like DNB, Nordea
and SEB.