The European Commission has authorised aid granted by Belgium, France and Luxembourg for the orderly resolution of the Dexia group, the sale of its subsidiary DMA (Dexia Municipal Agency) and the restructuring of Belfius (formerly Dexia Banque Belgique).
Joaquín Almunia, Commission Vice President in charge of competition policy, said: "I am happy to finally be in a position to approve the resolution plan of Dexia, which Belgium, France and Luxembourg have drawn up jointly. The plan will allow the orderly resolution of the group. Belfius will refocus on its core banking and insurance business while DMA will be coupled to a new development bank structure in France, which will address market failures for the funding of the local public sector. As foreseen by our rules, the approved plan ensures that the continued market presence of some parts of the Dexia group is truly justified, without artificially keeping alive a failed business model, and that competition distortions resulting from the aid received are minimised. Finally, the plan brings the cost for the taxpayer down to the level strictly necessary to carry out the orderly resolution process".
The new development bank structure in France will exclusively grant loans in sectors where there is a well identified market failure, i.e. loans to French local authorities and public hospitals. The structure of the development bank foresees several safeguards to avoid the crowding out of private funding, ensuring a level playing field in the Single Market.
The current decision, taken on the basis of an amended resolution plan, allows the closing of all the investigations. It authorises new state aid to the Dexia group, under the form a refinancing guarantee of €85 billion and a recapitalisation of €5.5 billion.
Press release
© European Commission
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