Credit Agricole, France’s largest retail bank,
is to buy between 150 and 200 branches in Italy from Intesa
SanPaolo for an undisclosed price, bringing its total Italian
branch network to more than 900 outlets.
The French lender has also agreed to reduce
its shareholding in Intesa to below 5 percent by the end of
the year from its current 6 percent stake and to less
than 2 percent by July 2011.
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The deal follows negotiations between the
banks and Italian regulators which will enable the banks to
avoid a substantial anti-trust fine.
Italy’s antitrust authority had raised
concerns that Credit Agricole’s current shareholding in Intesa
could distort competition in the country’s banking sector, as it
already controls regional bank Cariparma.
Credit Agricole has also agreed to end its
shareholders pact in Intesa with Italian insurer Generali, which
owns a 5.1 percent stake in Intesa SanPaolo.
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