Credit Agricole bank reports doubled profits

French bank Credit Agricole, one of the biggest European banks by capitalisation, reported a doubling of net profit to 1.0 billion euros ($1.42 billion) in the first quarter, on Friday. The price of shares in the bank showed a gain of 1.40 percent to 11.23 euros in a market up 0.57 percent overall. The outcome, marking an increase of 112 percent from the result 12 months ago, was in line with average estimates of analysts as polled by Dow Jones Newswires. At CM-CIC Securities, analyst Pierre Chedeville commented: "The group is showing its main characteristics again: operating efficiency and an excellent control of charges, very cautious policy for provisioning, and financing and investment activities steady." Bank chief executive Jean-Paul Chifflet said that Credit Agricole's direct exposure to Greek debt was 631 million euros at the end of March. Credit Agricole is one of the few foreign banks to control a Greek bank, in the form of Emporiki bank.