Similarly, the directors of FleetBoston's fund subsidiary, Columbia Advisors, have not asked for the parent bank's resignation as fund manager.

ECONOMIST: A big legal settlement has more bark than bite

Raiffeisen's parent bank, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich, for example, is one of the biggest mortgage lenders in Austria, where home-loan rates are often tied to Euribor.

WSJ: Third Bank Exits Euribor Panel

Under French accounting rules, a stake of this size would require the parent bank to treat Mr Pinault's operations as related in its own accounts.

ECONOMIST: Cr��dit Lyonnais: A shuffle offshore | The