Emporiki Transfers Bulgaria Unit Shares to Agricole

A man uses the ATM of an Emporiki Bank in Athens on 23 September 2011. Photo by EPA/BGNES

French bank Credit Agricole has taken control of assets in Bulgaria, Romania and Bulgaria of its Greek subsidiary Emporiki Bank, it said in a statement, amid concerns over a possible Greek euro exit.

"This intra-group transaction is the last step of a process developed since the beginning of 2009 to reinforce links between Credit Agricole SA and Emporiki Group's subsidiaries," Emporiki said after Thursday's board decision.

"This agreement will also allow Emporiki to further rationalize its corporate structure and reinforce its focused efforts to effectively deal with the current circumstances and challenges."

The deal is subject to approval from the relevant central banks.

The Bulgarian unit now has direct access to funding from the French bank, the lender pointed out in its statement.

Once the procedure is complete, Emporiki Bank Bulgaria will adopt the name Credit Agricole with its trademark and logo.

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