French government denies bank bailout plan

France is planning a 10-15 billion-euro recapitalisation plan for five top banks struggling with the debt crisis, a report said Sunday. But the finance ministry has denied the claim.

Reuters/Benoit Tessier

The state made the offer during an 11 September meeting with top officials from BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, BPCE and Crédit Mutuel, the Journal du Dimanche (JDD) newspaper said Sunday, citing sources in banks and the presidential palace.

Société Générale rejected the offer, it said.

The finance ministry said the government had held talks with leading banks on their state of health but denied making the bailout proposal.

All the concerned banks declined comment on the JDD report.

According to JDD, the plan was drawn up to bail out Société Générale, which was badly hit by the debt crisis, but its boss Frederic Oudéa, who also heads the French Banking Federation, rejected it as it did not extend to all affected banks and he did not want his bank to be “stigmatised."

Central bank governor Christian Noyer also rejected the report in an interview with JDD, saying there was no plan and that "French banks have sufficient capital base compared to other European banks and they are making profits".