Agricole, Caisse d'Epargne in Livret A legal spat

PARIS, April 12 (Reuters) - French bank Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Sunday it had begun legal action against rival Caisse d'Epargne over the popular tax-free Livret A savings product.

In a statement, Agricole said its lawsuit centred on methods used by Caisse d'Epargne to prevent its customers from switching their Livret A accounts to other banks such as Agricole.

Officials at Caisse d'Epargne, which is merging with Banque Populaire, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Livret A was previously sold only at branches of the French Post Office and the Caisse d'Epargne but the product has been made available to all banks since the start of the year.

Some 46 million French people hold a Livret A account, which has seen a surge in demand as the financial crisis has caused savers to seek products which guarantee them a positive return.

The Livret A is normally calculated according to a mechanical formula linked to inflation and last week it was set at an all-time low of 1.75 percent. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Mike Nesbit)