BNP Paribas seeks $6.3 bn as banks raise cash

BNP Paribas, France's biggest bank by market value, tapped investors for 4.3 billion euros ($6.3 billion) on Tuesday in the latest mammoth share issue by banks seeking to repair damage from the credit crunch.

What had been a trickle of deals and rumoured rights issues threatens to become a flood, as banks rush to shore up their finances and free them from the restrictions and high costs of state aid. BNP said it needed the funds to repay the French government early. The deal will free the bank from direct state shackles at a time when governments are seeking to impose restrictions such as on bonus payments.