Crédit Agricole said it has not ruled out making a bid for Crédit Lyonnais as it revealed a €145m ($145m) consolidated net income for the third quarter, a 29.6% fall on the same period last year.

Gilles de Margerie, chief financial officer of Crédit Agricole, said: "We believe we can still do something intelligent with Crédit Lyonnais." The comments came after the release of the French bank's third quarter results, and just days after BNP Paribas acquired the French government's 10.9% stake in Crédit Lyonnais for €2.2bn. Margerie said options under consideration included making an offer for Crédit Lyonnais "at a reasonable price" as well as possibly selling its 10.5% stake in Crédit Lyonnais at the right price.