French President Nicolas Sarkozy is angry with Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer for not having informed the government earlier about the losses at Societe Generale, a source said yesterday.

The source said Mr Sarkozy's office and Economy Minister Christine Lagarde had been informed about the problems at around 8 a.m. (0700 GMT) on Wednesday morning. Prime Minister Francois Fillon said earlier yesterday he was also told on Wednesday.

"The fact that Mr Noyer did not inform the other French authorities was taken very badly by the government," the source said.

"The President was not very happy, and he has let it be known at the Bank of France."

Mr Noyer told a news conference on Thursday he was informed by SocGen of the problems over the weekend "in real time" ahead of the official announcement on Thursday morning.

SocGen Chairman Daniel Bouton said in a letter to shareholders he had informed Noyer and France's financial markets regulator, the AMF, on Sunday, after discovering his bank had a problem late yesterday.

There have also been questions about whether Noyer informed the US Federal Reserve of the problems ahead of its emergency, three-quarter-per cent interest rate cut on Tuesday, and if not, why not.

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