PARIS (AFP) -- Shareholders in French investment bank Natixis on Friday approved a planned 3.7 billion euros (5.44 billion dollars) capital increase to repair the damage caused by the U.S. sub-prime home loan crisis.

Despite vocal opposition from some shareholders, the vote passed by a large majority since Natixis management had the support of major French banks Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne, which hold 70 percent of its capital.
""Natixis is ready to write a new chapter in its history,"" the president of the bank's board Philippe Dupont told the meeting.
Natixis is fighting to recover from the effects of the financial crisis sparked by the collapse of the U.S. high-risk or sub-prime mortgage market which has costs billions of dollars.
""We have suffered the consequences of this crisis which surprised Natixis in the very first months of its existence"" after its founding in 2006, Dupont said.
On Thursday, Natixis reported a net loss of 948 million euros for the first half of 2008 while revenues fell by almost two thirds to 1.55 billion euros.
The U.S. hedge fund Greenlight Capital, which holds a stake in the French bank, has criticized the terms of the new share offering as unfavorable to shareholders.
The fund's president David Einhorn reiterated his objections at Friday's meeting, prompting shouts of scorn against the bank's directors from other disgruntled shareholders.
""We now find ourselves with a ton of shares that are no longer worth anything,"" said one.