Credit Agricole takes 2 billion euro hit from Emporiki sale

The logo of Emporiki Bank is seen outside a branch in Athens October 1, 2012.

PARIS (Reuters) - French bank Credit Agricole said on Wednesday that its sale of Greek lender Emporiki to Alpha Bank would impact its third-quarter net income by 2 billion euros (1.6 billion pounds).

Credit Agricole, which confirmed in a statement that it had signed a contract for the sale, announced on October 1 that it intended to pay Alpha 550 million euros to take Greek lender Emporiki off its hands.

Analysts said at the time that the transaction would lead to a 2 billion-euro hit to earnings.

(Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Blaise Robinson)