Credit Agricole sells Greek lender Emporiki for €1 The sale comes amid concerns over Greece's financial crisis, which has caused massive losses on loans and government bond holdings. Credit Agricole bought Emporiki in 2006 as part of its international expansion plan, prevailing against other lenders including the Bank of Cyprus. However, the acquisition left the bank with billions of euros in bad loans as the Greek economy deteriorated, and Credit Agricole's Greek arm has booked losses of €5.7bn since 2008. Alpha Bank and Credit Agricole said that the terms of the sale are unchanged since it announced negotiations at the start of the month. The French bank will pump an additional €550m into Emporiki as part of the deal, which will be finalised by the end of the year.