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Armed with upbeat statistics on loan growth in France and scare stories about what a crackdown on banks could do to the economy, they are pressing their case face-to-face with politicians and wooing the public with advertising campaigns.
One in-demand lunch companion is Francois Hollande, the Socialist presidential candidate taking on conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. Seen as a pragmatist rather than a firebrand by some bankers, Hollande has nonetheless pledged to break up French banks and slap them with new taxes if elected.
"We recently invited Francois Hollande into our offices and told him our point of view," an executive at one of France's biggest banks told Reuters. "We explained how things were getting dramatic. He sat with us and listened."
Hollande's team declined to comment.
PARIS |
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Faced with the prospect of
becoming the scapegoats of an increasingly bitter presidential
showdown, French banks are stepping up their own campaign to
convince the public and politicians of their worth.Armed with upbeat statistics on loan growth in France and scare stories about what a crackdown on banks could do to the economy, they are pressing their case face-to-face with politicians and wooing the public with advertising campaigns.
One in-demand lunch companion is Francois Hollande, the Socialist presidential candidate taking on conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. Seen as a pragmatist rather than a firebrand by some bankers, Hollande has nonetheless pledged to break up French banks and slap them with new taxes if elected.
"We recently invited Francois Hollande into our offices and told him our point of view," an executive at one of France's biggest banks told Reuters. "We explained how things were getting dramatic. He sat with us and listened."
Hollande's team declined to comment.
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