Subsidized expansion

The deal that already failed twice gets a third chance. The Belgian government has struck yet another agreement to sell Fortis to BNP Paribas. The shareholders of the Belgian bank get a slightly sweetened offer and the French bank gets what it wants. But this win-win deal isn’t as miraculous as it seems: the Belgian government will foot most of the additional bill. As originally planned, BNP Paribas will get 75% of the banking assets of Fortis in Belgium and Luxembourg. And Belgium will end up o...