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Europe: Banks in focus

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Date: Tuesday 13 May 2008

LONDON (ShareCast) - The banking sector remained in the spotlight as European stocks turned lower midday after Credit Agricole announced a write-down related rights issue.

The French banking giant plans to launch a €5.9bn capital increase as net profit in the first quarter fell to €892m from €2.66 last year.

Also in the banking sector, Belgo-Dutch Fortis saw first quarter earnings decline 31% to €808m due to a €380m hit from the credit crunch.

SocGen, France's second- largest bank by market value, said first quarter net profit fell by 23% to €1.1bn.

Shares in Versatel were lower after the German group’s first quarter results failed to meet expectations.

The German Dax fell 11 points to 7,023, the French CAC is down 20 points to 4,955, while the Swiss market is up 69 points at 7,553.

In economic news, the UK Consumer Prices Index hit 3% in April driven by high food and fuel costs, up from 2.5% in March, and against expectations of 2.6%, according to the Office for National Statistics.

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