Dexia CEO defends track record amid bailout

PARIS (Reuters) - Dexia said its recently-announced rescue would have been even bigger had it not been for management's recent efforts to shrink the group's balance sheet, and defended itself by saying the bank's problem was one of liquidity and not one of capital.

In a press conference on Monday, CEO Pierre Mariani said he was not the type of person to step aside in the middle of the crisis, but that the decision was up to the board.

"Maybe our naivete was to accept too easily the requests by governments," he said, referring to requests to maintain exposure to Greek debt. "We never had a problem of solvency but one of liquidity given our large portfolio of sovereign debt."

(Reporting By Lionel Laurent; editing by Leila Abboud)