Jean Peyrelevade, president of Crédit Lyonnais, stands to make a profit of €5.25m ($5.8m) on his options if Crédit Agricole's takeover offer goes through this year.

Dominique Ferrero, the number two at Crédit Lyonnais, is likely to make €3.8m and the combined executive committee could receive around €14m. In total, around 1,000 staff at Crédit Lyonnais could benefit by as much as €143m from their options if the sale goes ahead.