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COPYRIGHT 2006 Financial Times Ltd.
(From Retail Banker International)
Merger and acquisition fever is sweeping European banking, as new consolidation deals shape up in Portugal and France. However, several European Union markets are determined to defend their banking industries from foreigners, just as protectionist barriers have been broken down in Italian banking In a sudden new burst of merger proposals in Europe, mutual banks Caisse d'Epargne and La Banque Federale des Banques Populaires plan to merge parts of their businesses to launch a jointly owned listed bank, a combination that would potentially create France's third-largest retail banking network. At the same time, Portugal's Millennium BCP (BCP) has offered E4.3 billion ($5.2 billion) for smaller domestic rival Banco BPI, in a deal aimed at forming the country's largest retail bank.
The shares of Societe Generale, the third-largest listed French bank, have risen on speculation of a foreign offer from Citigroup or another big global banking force....
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