Belgium, Luxembourg scramble to sell Fortis

October 05 12:05:01 PM, Yahoo News

Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende (C), Noud Wellink, president of the Dutch National Bank (L) and Minister of Finances, Wouter Bos (R) attend a news meeting in The Hague, October 3, 2008. The Dutch government has agreed to take over the banking and insurance activities of troubled financial services group Fortis in the Netherlands, Belgium said on Friday. (Stringer/Reuters)

Reuters - Belgium and Luxembourg scrambled on Saturday to find a buyer for the remains of troubled financial group Fortis and mulled a further nationalization after the Netherlands took over its Dutch units.

The break-up of the cross-border banking and insurance group, less than a week after a first rescue attempt in which the three governments injected 11.2 billion euros ($15.4 billion), highlighted the ferocity with which the global crisis has swept into Europe.

Luxembourg's economy minister said French bank BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) was one possible bidder for parts of Fortis and a solution had to be found by the end of the weekend.

"BNP Paribas is one among many possibilities," Jeannot Krecke told Luxembourg's RTL radio station.

"Now we have to return to the solution we were looking at last Sunday, that is to find a strong partner because the Belgian government is the main shareholder of Fortis Luxembourg and that situation will be remedied this weekend."

The Dutch government bought the banking and insurance units of Fortis in the Netherlands on Friday for 16.8 billion euros, including most of Dutch bank ABN AMRO, after depositors and lenders fled the bank.

The second bailout in six days came on the eve of Saturday's Paris summit of the leaders of Europe's four major powers with the heads of European Union financial institutions to seek a common response to the credit crisis.

SALE OR NATIONALISATION?

A Belgian source familiar with the situation said the only solutions for the rump Belgo-Luxembourg group were a sale to the private sector or further nationalization to protect depositors and save as many as possible of the 45,000 jobs at stake.

"Leaving things as they are now is not a realistic option," the source said.

Belgian business daily De Tijd quoted political sources as saying there were three or four would-be bidders for the Belgian activities of Fortis, including BNP. But a source told Reuters that there appeared to be fewer.

BNP Paribas, which sources said had offered 1.6 euros a share for Fortis a week ago, declined to comment. Fortis shares stood at 5.42 euros at Friday's close, before the Dutch nationalization and break-up was announced.

A source close to Fortis said the board was holding crisis meetings at Fortis's Brussels headquarters, with announcements due at the end of the weekend or the start of next week.

However, Finance Minister Didier Reynders told Belgian RTBF television on Saturday evening that the government would not necessarily be taking decisions in the next few days.

His comments came after core members of Prime Minister Yves Leterme's government met, ostensibly to discuss the 2009 budget.

The government, which has 49 percent of Fortis Bank Belgium, said on Friday the Dutch deal allowed Belgium to concentrate on the evolution of the group in the short and medium term. Leterme said then he did not rule out further developments for Fortis.

Fortis Chief Executive Filip Dierckx, who took no questions at a brief news conference on Friday, failed to make television and public appearances planned for Friday evening and Saturday.

Dutch media were split on Saturday over the government's decision to put the Dutch units under state control.

Calling it a baffling move, leading financial daily Het Financieele Dagblad said in an editorial: "In one move, ABN AMRO and Fortis have become the most trustworthy banks in the market. This is an unfair competitive advantage during the current credit crisis."

But left-wing daily De Volkskrant said the move was unavoidable due to the uncertainties swirling around ABN AMRO and as depositors withdrew their money.

Fortis, a Belgian-Luxembourg group, is now made up of Fortis's banking and insurance activities in Belgium, Fortis Banque Luxembourg, international operations, notably banking in Poland and Turkey, and asset management arm Fortis Investments.

(Writing by Paul Taylor; Additional reporting by Darren Ennis in Brussels, Foo Yunchee in Amsterdam and Julien Ponthus in Paris; Editing by Louise Ireland and Ruth Pitchford)

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