How French farm bank lost its shirt in the city

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

PARIS, May 15 (Reuters) - For decades its vaults were awash with French farm subsidies, earning it the nickname Green Bank, but 4 years ago Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) decided to tap the sort of fast money enjoyed by its rivals by creating Calyon investment bank.

On Thursday, Agricole's dreams of outsmarting urban lenders BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) turned to dust when it was forced to announce a major restructuring of Calyon after falling victim to the global subprime crisis.