Daniel Lebègue & Charles Milhaud

Daniel Lebègue doesn't like the way that Americans pronounce the name of his bank's new joint venture. Eulia is not supposed to have a long vowel sound at the beginning, he says. Fortunately, the partial merger between Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), where Lebègue is president, and Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne (CNCE), is unlikely to be much of a talking point in the US. It has hardly caused a stir in Europe so far. Most analysts admit to having been more focused on Crédit Agricole's IPO in recent months than anything its rivals are up to.