France and Belgium hold final talks on Dexia break-up

09/10/11 12:34 CET

world news

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The break up of Dexia, the first bank to fall victim to the euro zone debt crisis, is set to be finalised today.

The fate of the Franco-Belgian lender, crippled by a liquidity crunch, has been under discussion all weekend.

And, as he prepared to host French Prime Minister Francois Fillon in Brussels for final talks, Belgium’s caretaker premier was keen to reassure investors.

But despite Yves Leterme’s talk of finding consensual solutions, the neighbours have argued over who should pay to salvage the cross-border municipal lender.

The stricken bank’s board was also meeting today.

The burden of bailing out Dexia could prove costly for Belgium with a warning from Moody’s Investor Service that it may cut the country’s credit rating.

More about: Banking, Belgium, Economic crisis, France

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