By Lionel Laurent and Matthieu Protard
PARIS, May 18 (Reuters) - French bank Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) is widely expected to name rural mayor Jean-Marie Sander as chairman on Wednesday amid tough economic times.
The bank is under pressure to reassure investor confidence after missing first-quarter profit expectations on the back of rising loan provisions in Greece.
Sander, a 60-year-old farmer who is also mayor of the small commune in the northeastern Alsace region where he was born, will be the last key appointment in Credit Agricole's management overhaul as it seeks to turn the page on the financial crisis.
A more reserved figure than outgoing chairman Rene Carron, who has reached the age limit of 67, Sander's strong ties to the Alsace region and his family's farming origins mark a symbolic return to Credit Agricole's agricultural roots after the crisis.
"It's clear Sander is a big backer of the agricultural cooperative model and its values," said a colleague of Sander's, who said the mayor brewed his own hops and sold them through a cooperative.
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