France's Credit Agricole to expand in Germany with retail business

(Corrects day of announcement in first paragraph to Thursday, not Wednesday)

FRANKFURT, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The French lender Credit Agricole on Thursday laid out plans to expand in Germany with some services for ordinary consumers by the end of October, the latest such push into Europe's largest economy by a big foreign bank. 

Credit Agricole has been present in Germany for decades and until now has largely focused on large companies as customers.

Now the French bank is planning to offer basic checking accounts for retail customers this year and expand with more offerings in 2027 as it aims to become a full-service bank.

"Germany is central to our European ambitions," CEO Olivier Gavalda told journalists in Frankfurt.

(Reporting by Tom SimsEditing by Linda Pasquini)