Credit Agricole asset sale to boost capital core restructuring

French banking group Credit Agricole on Wednesday said it would sell stakes in 39 of its regional operations for 18 billion euros as part of a push to strengthen its capital base.

The $20 billion sale by listed entity Credit Agricole SA to regional network specialist SACAM Mutualisation is expected in the third quarter of 2016, the group said in a statement.

The sale will "do away with a rather unbearable paradox" which consists of "being a highly-capitalised large banking group" but whose listed entity is often the aim "of some kind of doubt" concerning the solidity of its capital base, Philippe Brassac said at a news conference.

Credit Agricole shares, which had shed around a fifth of their value since January, surged in reaction to the announcement, rising by 8 percent in early Paris stock exchange trading.

Credit Agricole on Wednesday also reported strong net 2015 profits, up 22 percent to 6.0 billion euros ($6.5 billion), for the network including regional branches.

The stake sale would simplify the group's structure to make it "more comprehensible and transparent", chairman Dominique Lefebvre added.