Thursday, Sep 22, 2011
PARIS (Dow Jones)--Qatar's government is in talks with BNP Paribas (BNP.FR), France's largest bank by market capitalization, over the possible acquisition of a stake in the bank, Reuters reports, citing an unidentified Qatari source close to the matter.
Qatar officials have met several French banks to discuss their needs for capital, Reuters said, citing the same source.
In 2008, Qatar and Abu Dhabi had bought stakes in U.K. bank Barclays PLC (BCS).
BNP Paribas declined to comment Thursday but referred to repeated comments in the last two days from Chairman Michel Pebereau and Chief Executive Baudouin Prot, who have both insisted that the bank doesn't need a capital increase.
Shares of Paribas have lost about half of their value since late July as investors are concerned about potential losses related to exposure to sovereign debt of fiscally weak euro-zone countries threatening the bank. Shares of other two large French banks Societe Generale SA (GLE.FR) and Credit Agricole SA (ACA.FR) have also lost half their value over the same period.
Newspaper website: http://www.reuters.com
-By Paris Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; 33-1-4017 1740
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
22-09-11 0559GMT
