Dexia approves EU restructuring plan

European financial institution Dexia said on Friday that its board of directors has approved the restructuring plan agreed between the states of Belgium, France and Luxembourg and the European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the European Union.

The plan involves sale of some of the bank's assets, including its 70 per cent stake in Dexia Crediop in Italy, 85.5 per cent stake in Dexia Banka Slovensko in Slovak Republic and 60 per cent stake in Dexia Sabadell in Spain, by the end of 2013.

In addition, Dexia will also divest the 51 per cent stake it has in Brussels-based AdInfo, by 31 October 2010, and its insurance operations in Turkey, by 31 October 2012.

The bank aims to trim its balance sheet by 35 per cent between 2008 and 2014 and hopes to exit the state guarantee on its funding by the end of June 2010.

Brussels-based Dexia is a Belgian-French bank engaged in public sector finance, retail and commercial banking services, asset management, financial markets and insurance. Dexia operates primarily in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

Following the global credit crisis, Dexia was bailed out by the governments of Belgium, France and Luxembourg through a capital injection of €6.4 billion ($8.7 billion) and a state guarantee for its liabilities for a total amount of €150 billion, effective 31 October 2008. Belgium provided 60.5 per cent of the guarantee while France contributed 36.5 per cent and Luxembourg 3 per cent.