Credit Agricole to Boost Greek Unit’s Capital, Kathimerini Says

Credit Agricole SA will put about 2.5 billion euros ($3 billion) of capital into its Greek unit Emporiki Bank SA before selling it, Kathimerini reported, without saying how it got the information.

The capital need arises from a study of Greek banks’ loan portfolios performed earlier this year by a unit of BlackRock Inc. (BLK), and will make it easier for the French bank to sell Emporiki, the Athens-based newspaper said.

In return Credit Agricole will retain a stake of about 5 percent in Emporiki after its sale, which has attracted interest from National Bank of Greece SA, EFG Eurobank Ergasias SA (EUROB) and Alpha Bank SA, Kathimerini said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Marcus Bensasson in Athens at mbensasson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net