Several of the strategic shareholders - including
Commerzbank, BBVA and Intesa BCI - own stakes for purely
financial reasons and are likely to be among the first to
sell. But for the French banks Crédit Lyonnais is a prize
worth having. Allianz is also rumoured to have been a bidder
in the auction through its French subsidiary AGF but it's
difficult to see that this would be quite so compelling to
shareholders.
Crédit Lyonnais ended up in the hands of the government in the
first place following bad lending and investment decisions that
almost pushed it into bankruptcy. Between 1992 and 1994 it lost a
total of Ffr21 billion (e3.2 billion) and the state had no option
but to...
