UPDATE 2-Agricole makes Chifflet new CEO, net profit falls

* Net profit 289 mln eur vs average Reuters forecast 238 mln

* Current CEO Pauget says no plans for big acquisitions

(Adds comments from current CEO, fund manager)

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

PARIS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA), France's biggest retail bank, plucked a new chief executive from its influential provincial outlets as its third quarter net profit fell less than many had expected.

The group said on Tuesday that Jean-Paul Chifflet, currently head of one of its main units in Lyon [ID:nLA490980], would replace Georges Pauget in March next year.

The appointment of Chifflet highlights the renewed power of the company's regional retail banks over the group, which has cut back on ambitious plans for its Calyon investment banking unit after Calyon posted a string of losses in 2008.

"The company's regional banks are tightening their grip on the power," said Reyl France fund manager Dorothee Marty, who holds Agricole shares in her portfolio.

Third-quarter net profit fell 21 percent from a year earlier to 289 million euros ($432.9 million), above the average net profit forecast of 238 million euros from a Reuters poll of twelve analysts.