PARIS, August 11, 2008 (AFP) - The price of depressed shares in Natixis bank jumped by 19.02 percent to 7.32 euros in early afternoon trading here on Monday on rumours that they might be de-listed from a stock market quotation.

With the gain on Monday, the shares have rallied by 40 percent in a week, but still show a fall of 55.0 percent in the last 12 months.

The overall market as measured by the CAC 40 index was showing a gain of 0.46 percent on Monday.

A portfolio adviser at brokers Meeschaert, Frederic Rozier, said: 'The market is lending credibility to rumours of a de-listing.'

Rozier said: 'Returns on banking shares are colossal.' He noted that banking shares had had been under attack since the so-called subprime mortgage crisis broke in the United States 12 months ago, leading to a credit crisis on many financial markets.

Natixis is among the hardest hit banks quoted on the Paris market.

The bank, a subsidiary of Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne, made further asset writedowns in July of 1.5 billion euros (2.25 billion dollars), having already written down the value of assets by 2.4 billion euros because of the credit crisis.

Natixis then announced that it would soon raise capital of 3.7 billion euros.