Fortis rescue deal agreed
French banking giant BNP Paribas is to take a majority 75% share of troubled Franco-Belgian rival Fortis.
Belgium's prime minister Yves Leterme said the Belgian and Luxembourg governments will in turn take a blocking minority share in BNP Paribas.
The bank has been caught up in the financial credit crisis and has faced weeks of plummeting stock values amid fears that it would go insolvent.