FRANCE: Banks’ Greek tax bill cut by 2 bln euros

 * Piraeus in final deal for SocGen’s Geniki *

French banks Credit Agricole and Societe Generale have collectively spent billions of euros sealing their exit from debt-ravaged Greece, injecting capital and sweetening terms for buyers to take businesses off their hands.
Thanks to the French taxman, however, they have managed to recoup 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) from the total bill.
French tax law – which has since been changed – allowed the banks to deduct taxes on capital injected into their ailing Greek units, analysts said, cushioning their bottom line from the maximum amount of pain after pre-crisis investments in Greece turned sour with the euro zone's debt drama.
Credit Agricole's chief financial officer told analysts on a conference call the bank was able to deduct 1.6 billion euros from the 3.2 billion equity loss of selling its Emporiki unit to Alpha Bank, leaving a net loss of 2 billion euros once other costs were added.
SocGen did not disclose the amount deducted but two analysts reached by Reuters estimated the savings would have been around 300 million euros.
Meanwhile, Greece's Piraeus Bank said on Friday it had reached a final agreement to buy Geniki Bank, Societe Generale’s ailing Greek unit.
Societe Generale, which controls 99.1% of Geniki, had said in August that it was in talks with Piraeus on the Greek lender.