Trial could thwart Trichet’s bid to be ECB chief

BANK OF FRANCE Governor Jean-Claude Trichet went on trial yesterday in a decade-old banking scandal that could thwart his bid to become the next president of the European Central Bank.

Mr Trichet, 60, faces prosecution with eight other bankers and finance experts for an alleged cover-up of losses during a state bailout of French bank Credit Lyonnais in the early 1990s. The trial is being closely watched internationally because Mr Trichet is due to take over from retiring European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg this year.

A conviction could ignite a renewed tussle within Europe over who should take over the ECB, cause unease in financial markets and raise doubts about the stability of the institution that steers the world’s second-biggest economy.