BNP Paribas yesterday sought to escape the yoke of state support through a €4.3bn ($6.3bn) rights issue, in a move that puts pressure on other banks to follow suit.
Baudouin Prot, chief executive of Europe's second-biggest bank by market value, said yesterday that the rebound in the stock market presented an “opportunity” to repay “as soon as possible” the €5.1bn of non-voting preference shares issued to the French government in March.
Analysts said they expected Société Générale and Crédit Agricole, France's two other big banks, to tap shareholders soon for the second time since last year. SocGen said it was following market conditions closely, a statement that could pave the way for a cash call.