French banks welcome Greek bailout

French banks said Wednesday they welcome the Greek bailout package financed by European countries and the International Monetary Fund.

The French Banking Federation said in a statement that leading French banks have pledged to French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde to stand by Greece, of whose debt French banks are believed to be large holders.

Greek government bonds were downgraded last week to junk status by Standard and Poor's, sparking concerns that holders of the debt including banks in western Europe would dump the assets, leading to an acceleration of the financial crisis that has gripped the country.

Earlier Wednesday French bank Societe Generale SA estimated its holdings of Greek government debt at euro3 billion (US$3.88 billion). The bank also owns a majority stake in Greek retail and commercial bank Geniki Bank.

Another French bank, Credit Agricole SA, owns the Greek bank Emporiki.

Separately Wednesday, an opinion poll showed that most French people support the financial bailout for Greece agreed between the other 15 eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.

In the Ifop poll for magazine La Lettre de l'opinion, 66 percent of respondants were in favor of France's financial aid for Greece, versus 34 percent who were opposed.