SOCIETE Generale, one of France's largest banks, was yesterday condemned by a Paris court for acting unfairly in an attempt to win business from its state-owned rival Credit Lyonnais.

The Paris commercial court fined Societe Generale a symbolic Ffrl (11p) with Ffr50,000 in costs for writing to Credit Lyonnais customers to denigrate their bank and encourage them to move their accounts.

The decision highlights the increasingly desperate measures by French banks in response to intense competition as well as the continued bitterness between the two banks.

A number of Societe Generale agencies targeted their rival's clients by collecting the names and addresses of Credit Lyonnais customers from the information provided on cheques and standing orders they handled.

Credit Lyonnais, which owns 53 per cent of Woodchester Investments, says about 100 of its customers notified it of the letters, which included phrases such as "in an uncertain economic environment, perhaps you have the feeling that your bank has difficulties in giving you really competitive offers.

Another letter said: "(some banks) are judged to be virtually bust. In the face of this sad reality, some of their clients are legitimately asking questions, others are concerned".

In its defence, Societe Generale claimed the initiative was taken by individual agencies and not by headquarters, and that the campaign was not aimed only at Credit Lyonnais customers.

It said its rival's decision to sue was an effort to attract media attention after Societe Generale had complained to the European Commission about a financial restructuring of Credit Lyonnais.

The French data protection agency carried out an inquiry at Societe Generale last year, following which the bank agreed to eliminate the addresses of its rivals' customers from its computer systems, and the country's banking association requested its members to cease similar practices.