Paris (dpa) - French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has asked the
government's bank oversight authority to look into the country's
second-largest banking group, Caisse d'Epargne, after it announced a
loss of 600 million euros (804 million dollars) in a derivatives trade,
French radio reported Friday.

The loss, which the bank described as a "market incident," occurred
during the week of October 6, when the Paris Bourse's CAC 40 index lost
22 per cent of its value.

The Caisse d'Epargne, which controls some 358 billion euros in
savings deposits, said Friday in a statement that the loss was caused
by "the extreme volatility of the markets and the stock market crash of
the week of October 6."

However, France Info reported that the trade that led to the loss
was unauthorized, and that the head of the team of traders that carried
it out was fired and the team itself disbanded.

"Considering the amount of its own capital - more than 20 billion
euros - and its significant liquidity, this loss will not affect the
group's financial stability and will have no consequences for its
clients," the bank said.