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Chairman of French bank to face trial for conflict of interest

Court to decide whether appointment of François Pérol as head of BPCE after being President Sarkozy's economic adviser breached rules.

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Francois Perol, chairman of France's second-biggest retail bank, BPCE, is to face trial in a case to determine whether his nomination to head the group in 2009 represented a conflict of interest, a judicial source told Reuters on Thursday, reports Reuters.

Prosecutors have said Perol, who was an economic adviser for former President Nicolas Sarkozy before being appointed to the bank, risks two years' prison and a 30,000 euro ($34,000) fine if found guilty.

Read more of this report from Reuters.