Credit Agricole looks to sell Greece's Emporiki

France's Credit Agricole has put its Greek subsidiary Emporiki Bank up for sale and received expressions of interest from Greece's top three lenders, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. National Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank and Eurobank EFG have each expressed interest in taking over Emporiki, acquired by Credit Agricole in 2006, the business daily reported. According to Financial Times sources, Credit Agricole began the search for a buyer earlier this month, but the Greek banks are waiting for permission from the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, a local bank rescue facility, before moving forward. In May, Credit Agricole, one of the biggest banks in Europe by capitalisation, reported a 75-percent drop in first quarter net profit after it was hit by its exposure to the Greek debt crisis. The firm said total losses on Greece were 940 million euros ($1.2 billion) including costs linked to the Greek sovereign debt swap agreed in March and provisions related to its majority stake in Emporiki.