Paris - After denying that it had lost nearly 1 billion euros (1.26 billion dollars) in trading last month, French investment bank Natixis on Wednesday said it had incurred losses of about one fourth that amount.

In a statement, Natixis said its trading losses for October totalled about 250 million euros and were due to an "extremely difficult (market) that was without precedent for its activities."

The investment bank also said it had made provisions of another 250 million euros in October because of the risks associated with the finance crisis.

Business daily La Tribune had earlier reported that Natixis lost 975 million euros in trading in shares, currencies and interest rates last month, and claimed that Natixis would issue a fourth-quarter profits warning when it makes public its third-quarter results on Thursday.

Natixis said its losses were not associated with any "dysfunctioning," as was the case with its parent bank Caisse d'Epargne, which lost 751 million euros in early October due to unauthorized trades.

A Caisse d'Epargne trader is being investigated on possible charges of abuse of trust in connection with that massive loss.

Natixis shares were down by 8.65 per cent, at 1.90 euros, in mid-afternoon trading on the Paris Bourse, while other French banking stocks were also off.

Confirmation of a substantial loss could lead to personnel changes at Natixis.

Caisse d'Epargne chief Charles Milhaud resigned after President Nicolas Sarkozy demanded that the bank's senior managers "assume all their responsibilities" regarding the loss. (dpa)