PARIS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The newly appointed head of loss-making French mutual banks Caisse d'Epargne and Banque Populaire said the merger of the two groups into France's second largest bank by branch offices still requires a lot of work.
'Now we start a race against the clock to succeed before July 1,' said Francois Perol, who was an aide to President Nicolas Sarkozy until this week's announcement of his new job.
'The state will invest up to 7 billion euros. That is a considerable amount,' said Perol in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche Sunday newspaper.
Perol's appointment provoked a political storm from critics concerned over Sarkozy's personal intervention in the banking merger.
The government set July 1 for the merger to be complete.
The banker said it was normal for the state to propose a new chief executive in addition to board members because of the size of state funds involved.
The two banks reported net losses for 2008 last week mainly due to their joint investment bank subsidiary Natixis which had a loss of 2.8 billion euros due to the subprime and bank financing crisis.
'The state took its responsibilities, there was urgency, financial difficulties, losses and risks, in a context of a global crisis. The banking authorities have alerted the government. For the first time in their history, de Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne have lost money,' he said.
He said the networks and identities of the two banks would be maintained.
'We have to be ready for June 30, with all the legal, social and financial constraints to this merger. You can see that there is urgency. But I an enthusiastic and determined,' he said.
Both boards of the two banks last week named Perol their chief executive.
(Reporting by Marcel Michelson; Editing by Matthew Jones)
((For five facts on Perol see, for details on the banks see)) Keywords: FINANCIAL/FRANCE (marcel.michelson@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 4949 5130; Reuters Messaging: marcel.michelson.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'Now we start a race against the clock to succeed before July 1,' said Francois Perol, who was an aide to President Nicolas Sarkozy until this week's announcement of his new job.
'The state will invest up to 7 billion euros. That is a considerable amount,' said Perol in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche Sunday newspaper.
Perol's appointment provoked a political storm from critics concerned over Sarkozy's personal intervention in the banking merger.
The government set July 1 for the merger to be complete.
The banker said it was normal for the state to propose a new chief executive in addition to board members because of the size of state funds involved.
The two banks reported net losses for 2008 last week mainly due to their joint investment bank subsidiary Natixis which had a loss of 2.8 billion euros due to the subprime and bank financing crisis.
'The state took its responsibilities, there was urgency, financial difficulties, losses and risks, in a context of a global crisis. The banking authorities have alerted the government. For the first time in their history, de Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne have lost money,' he said.
He said the networks and identities of the two banks would be maintained.
'We have to be ready for June 30, with all the legal, social and financial constraints to this merger. You can see that there is urgency. But I an enthusiastic and determined,' he said.
Both boards of the two banks last week named Perol their chief executive.
(Reporting by Marcel Michelson; Editing by Matthew Jones)
((For five facts on Perol see, for details on the banks see)) Keywords: FINANCIAL/FRANCE (marcel.michelson@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 4949 5130; Reuters Messaging: marcel.michelson.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.