BNP to buy SocGen? Kerviel as CEO? Place your bets
LONDON (Reuters) - BNP Paribas is the clear favourite to buy French bank Societe Generale as its rival reels from a rogue trading scandal -- at least by British and Irish bookmakers.
BNP Paribas is given odds of 5/4 to take over SocGen by Ladbrokes. Other suitors on offer at one of the two "bookies" include Credit Agricole at 9/4, Credit Suisse at 4/1 or Barclays and HSBC each at 6/1.
Even ailing British bank Northern Rock can be backed at odds of 1,000/1 to take over SocGen at Paddy Power.
But the longest odds are offered on who will succeed Daniel Bouton as SocGen's next chief executive.
SocGen's investment bank chief Jean-Pierre Mustier is given odds of 4/1 at taking over by Paddy Power, but Jerome Kerviel, the trader blamed for SocGen's 4.9 billion euros ($7.29 billion) of losses, can be backed at 10,000/1.
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