The French company Crédit Agricole is in exclusive negotiations with Banco Popolare in an attempt to merge their subsidiaries in the consumer credit sector. This merger will create the biggest consumer credit company in Italy with around 14% market share and assets worth €13bn. The new firm will have access to a network of 256 exclusively owned agencies, Banco Popolare bank networks (2100 agencies) and Cariparma and Friuladria (700 agencies) - the two regional banks bought up by the French company - as well as to 25,000 of the partner's sales outlets.