Societe Generale to raise $4.8 b

French bank Societe Generale said Tuesday it plans to raise 4.8
billion euros (7.1 billion dollars) in capital to pay back state aid
it received to help it through the financial crisis. The French
government had provided Societe Generale with 3.4 billion euros,
part of nearly 20 billion euros loaned to French banks with
interest to keep lending from drying up after the September 2008
meltdown. The capital increase will also "enable Societe Generale to
seize potential external growth opportunities," the bank said in a
statement. Societe Generale also said it was entering into
negotiations with Franco-Belgian bank Dexia with the aim of
purchasing Dexia's 20 percent stake in Credit du Nord.