Credit Agricole open to selling fund manager Anima in BPM deal, sources say

ROME/MILAN/PARIS, Nov 11 (Reuters) - France's Credit Agricole CAGR.PA has signalled to Italy it would be open to a sale of fund manager Anima Holding ANIM.MI as part of the merger deal it has proposed with Banco BPM BAMI.MI, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

A sale of Anima could address any political resistance in Italy to a deal combining Banco BPM and the Italian unit of Credit Agricole. It could also avoid overlap with Credit Agricole-owned Amundi AMUN.PA, Europe's biggest fund manager.

To overcome possible reservations by Italy's government, which has vetting powers on bank mergers, Credit Agricole has informally offered Rome a number of guarantees over how a deal will be structured including over customer savings invested in Italian government bonds, people have previously told Reuters.

One of the people familiar with the matter said the French bank had suggested the possibility of selling BPM-controlled Anima to investors the government views favourably if plans to fold Credit Agricole Italia into Banco BPM go through.

Under the proposed terms announced on Monday, the deal would lift to 45% Credit Agricole's current 29.3% share in Banco BPM, Italy's third-largest bank.

Credit Agricole declined to comment. Representatives for Anima and Banco BPM did not immediately respond to requests for comment.