AFX International Focus
October 26, 2006 Thursday 1:14 PM GMT

Credit Agricole to take 28 pct stake in Armenia’s ACBA

PARIS (AFX) – Credit Agricole SA plans to acquire a 28 pct stake in
the ACBA bank of Armenia, the latest step of its expansion plan for
Central and Eastern Europe, said Yves Couturier, general secretary of
Credit Agricole’s controlling shareholder FNCA.

Speaking at the FNCA’s annual conference in Dijon, Couturier said
ACBA ‘is the head of a cooperative farming bank that we helped found
in the early 1990s.’

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but Couturier said
the FNCA would take a direct stake in ACBA alongside Credit Agricole
SA, via a new holding company called Sacam International.

Couturier said the FNCA federation of regional banks will take
minority stakes in all future Credit Agricole acquisitions.

It is taking a 10 pct stake in a network of 654 Italian retail
banking branches acquired by Credit Agricole from Banca Intesa
earlier this month, and has a 5 pct stake in Emporiki, the Greek bank
that was taken over by Credit Agricole in August.