Patrick Werner, managing director for financial activities at La Poste, the French national postal services group, has said that he intends to submit plans for expansion in financial services, including the creation of a postal bank, to banking regulator CECEI in the second half of September this year. Mr Werner said he expected a response by the end of the year and that the bank would be created early in 2005.
Read MoreLa Poste, will reportedly announce a sixfold increase in profit for 2003, to 202m euros, from 34m in 2002. Despite these positive figures, the parent company would reportedly have made a loss in the period in question, had it not received 200m as a result of the increase in the price of postage stamps, which came into effect on 1 June 2003. In addition, the public company registered an operating margin of -0.6 per cent, compared with 5 per cent and 6 per cent respectively for counterparts Deutsche Bank of Germany and TPG of the Netherlands.
Read MoreThe French postal service, La Poste, called a meeting of its administrators in an attempt to quell doubts over the creation of a postal banking service, which is due to be launched in the next year. Trade unions have expressed doubts over the plan, saying that they would prefer to see the post office create a partnership with a public-interest bank which has no retail branches, such as state-owned French bank CDC or Dexia, the Franco-Belgian banking group specialised in public finance.
Read MoreDeutsche Post AG said it is in talks with the Belgian post office La Poste over cooperation, but has not as yet formulated any concrete plans.
Deutsche Post is in regular contact with La Poste, as with most other European postal services, regarding cooperation possibilities, a company spokesman said. Deutsche Post has always said it would be interested in cooperation and tie-ups with other European postal services, provided legal and regulatory conditions can be met and such a deal makes economic sense, he added.
Read MoreAlthough no indication has yet been given of how many redundancies La Poste, the French national postal services group, intends to carry out as part of its development plan for the period until 2007, its employees are worried that swingeing cuts are on their way. According to management estimates, 4,700 jobs were cut at the group last year, and nearly 5,000 will go in 2004.
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