Float or sink

28 August 2008 By Pierre Briancon

The CIB arm of Banques Populaires and Caisses d Epargne is considering a 40% discount for its coming E3.7bn rights issue. This is steep for an already battered stock. But it may be the only way Natixis can maintain its 30% free float.

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Natixis, the French bank, Thursday said its net loss in the second quarter of the year topped E1bn after E1.5bn of alreadyannounced writedowns due to its monoline exposure and the overall subprime crisis.

The bank also confirmed it would embark on a "new strategic direction", paring down its CIB unit and focusing on clientdriven activities, as it puts the final touch to a E3.7bn rights issue to shore up its capital base.

French newspapers La Tribune and Les Echos, quoting sources close to the situation, wrote that the rights issue would be launched with a 30to40% discount.

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