The cracks show: French banks. (restructuring of banking industry after deregulation is needed, especially to save Credit Foncier de France and in light of the Suez group's sale of controlling stake in Indosuez)(Brief Article)

Economist (US), The, May, 1996

PARIS

BANKS in Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia have begun to grapple with their difficulties. But not, so far, those in France. Now two events, involving three of the country's biggest financial institutions, have illustrated just how costly Gallic inertia has been. Worse, they show that other French banks are still a long way from taking the drastic action needed to restore their industry to health.

Curiously, after months of speculation, both bits of news emerged together on April 29th. In what promises to be France's biggest banking deal for a quarter of a century, the Suez group, the country's grandest conglomerate, agreed to sell a controlling stake in Indosuez, its investment bank, to Credit Agricole, the country's largest mutual bank....

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