Agreement Federal Government & BNP Paribas Fortis on early termination of guarantee agreement
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Steven Vanackere and BNP Paribas Fortis have reached an agreement on the early termination of the guarantee agreement of 12 May 2009.
Under this agreement, losses from a specific investment portfolio for a maximum amount of EUR 1.5 billion, were guaranteed by the Belgian State.
The initial size of the portfolio amounted to EUR 21.5 billion but is now reduced to a level that makes the guarantee agreement unnecessary. For these guarantees, BNP Paribas Fortis has paid in total EUR 48.8 million in compensation to the Federal government, including the Termination Fee, since 2010.
The Federal Government has had to carry no single payment under this guarantee agreement.
For Minister Vanackere the accelerated reduction of government guarantees is "an important next step in the reduction of the risk which the Federal State has taken to bring the Belgian financial sector back to a more stable environment."
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BNP Paribas Fortis is part of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 80 countries with nearly 200,000 employees, including more than 150,000 in Europe. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across Mediterranean basin countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia.
Under the name BNP Paribas Fortis, the bank offers the Belgian market a comprehensive package of financial services for private individuals, the self-employed, professionals and SMEs. In the insurance sector, BNP Paribas Fortis works closely with Belgian market leader AG Insurance. The bank also provides wealthy individuals, corporations and public and financial institutions with custom solutions for which it can draw on BNP Paribas’ know-how and international network.
More information is available at www.bnpparibasfortis.com and www.bnpparibas.com.
