Credit Agricole to Report a Loss for 2011, Cut 2,350 Jobs
Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Credit Agricole SA, France's second- largest bank by assets, said it expects to report a loss for 2011 and will eliminate 2,350 jobs at its investment-banking and consumer finance units.
Credit Agricole will book about 2.5 billion euros ($3.24 billion) in writedowns on investments, including its stake in Spain's Bankinter SA and Banco Espirito Santo SA of Portugal, the bank, based outside Paris, said in an e-mailed statement today.
The company scrapped its dividend for 2011 and said it can't confirm its 2014 goals because of "the lack of visibility on the economic and financial climate." The lender joins BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA in reducing corporate- and investment-banking staff.
Moody's Investors Service cut the credit ratings of Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale last week, citing funding constraints and deteriorating economic conditions amid Europe's two-year-old debt crisis. Moody's lowered the long-term debt ratings of Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas by one level to Aa3, the fourth-highest investment grade.
To contact the reporter on this story: Fabio Benedetti-Valentini in Paris at fabiobv@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at
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