Dexia Unlikely to Need to Tap Guarantees in 2012, Coene Says
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Dexia SA, the French-Belgian lender being broken up after requiring two bailouts in three years, is unlikely to have to tap Belgian government guarantees in 2012, said Luc Coene, the head of Belgium’s central bank.
Dexia, once the world’s largest municipal lender, won temporary approval last month from European Union regulators for as much as 45 billion euros ($57 billion) in guarantees from Belgium, France and Luxembourg through May 31. The temporary guarantees, which allow the group to reduce reliance on central-bank financing, are “the first step” from the three governments to provide as much as 90 billion euros, Dexia said.