French banks braced for a political fight

Article discusses the potential impact of who wins the 2012 French Presidential Election on the banking sector in France.

At threat is its prized universal banking model – combining asset management, retail and investment banking – if François Hollande, the Socialist candidate and favourite to beat President Nicolas Sarkozy, made good on a manifesto pledge to protect taxpayers by separating banks’ retail activities from 'speculative' investment banking operations.

ESO: Background information: French presidential election, 2012 http://www.europeansources.info/record/french-presidential-election-2012/

ESO: Background information: Sarkozy’s rival pledges to ‘conquer’ banks http://www.europeansources.info/record/sarkozys-rival-pledges-to-conquer-banks/

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