Action was however completed in slump of 30 yesterday

Barely Fortis was saved by three European States that all eyes turned yesterday to Dexia, another heavy weight of addition-Quievrain. Without waiting that stock market panic develops, the Belgian Minister of finance, Didier Reynders, was ready in the morning to offer assistance to Dexia in case of difficulty. In France, his counterpart, Christine Lagarde, indicated that the Caisse des Dépôts could intervene "as a shareholder" of Dexia, which holds 11,80. A new Board of extraordinary administration, by telephone, was held yesterday after the close of stock market. Action was however completed in slump of 30 yesterday.

A sound issue, an agreement was reached between the Federal Government and the Governments of the three regions on a capital increase. According to the RTBF, the operation would total about EUR 7 billion and would combine the Federal Government, regions, and shareholders of Dexia, which include the CDC. A new meeting with the regions was to be held from 22 hours to define the terms of this capital increase.

Dexia was born of the 1996 approximation of the credit communal of Belgium, a Belgian retail with France local credit Bank, the leader of the financing of local communities in the hexagon itself out of the fold of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations in the 1990s. A priori, these activities are not particularly worrisome or are not close ties with "subprime" credit But Dexia has suffered the negative impact of its U.S. subsidiary of credit enhancement, FSA, which cut its net income of 216 million euros in the second quarter.

The Stock Exchange tries to sort

These difficulties were not insurmountable in itself. End of August, the Chief Executive Officer of Dexia, Axel Miller, also declared that Dexia "has no capital increase project and intends to maintain its dividend policy". Yesterday, a spokesperson felt that it was a "very strong at the level of capital" group, while acknowledging that the situation was exceptional on the markets, while "Le Figaro", an increase of capital could take place very quickly.

In all the circumstances, the perception of the depth of the financial crisis in Europe has evolved operators, taking into account in particular the latest developments at Fortis. "The general context of yesterday is a willingness of managers to reduce the relative weight of the Bank values in their portfolios." "And they come out as a priority of the values that they assume that they will be forced to appeal to the market," said one analyst who preferred not to quote name. Money market provides more money to the banks as before the crisis, without too distinction between borrowers. The stock market, it tries to sort between institutions considers applicants potentials of capital and others. In fact, operators reported last week that the refinancing of Fortis would be sensitive for the purchase of the assets of ABN AMRO which it finally renounced. Dexia is not in the same situation. But it is traditionally active transmitter on the markets of debt and a group of which the basis of deposits is largely located in Belgium, where the nervousness of yesterday.