Credit Agricole sells 5.2 pct Bankinter stake for 116 mln euros

PARIS Jan 25 (Reuters) - French bank Credit Agricole said it raised 116 million euros ($155 million) by selling about a third of its 15.1 percent stake in Spain's Bankinter.

The bank will make a net capital gain of 32 million euros from the sale of the 5.2 percent stake, the bank said on Friday.

The move, which reduces Credit Agricole's holding to 9.9 percent, will have a positive impact on the solvency ratios of both Credit Agricole SA and the Credit Agricole group, the French bank added in a statement.

Bankinter posted a 31 percent drop in 2012 net profit on Thursday and said that its bad loans could hit 5 percent of total loans this year, up from 4.28 percent at the end of 2012. ($1 = 0.7477 euros) (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by David Goodman)