Belgium to take 100pc control of Dexia Bank's local arm

BRUSSELS: Belgium will take total control of Dexia Bank Belgium, the troubled Franco-Belgian bank's local arm, Prime Minister Yves Leterme said Monday after a cabinet meeting in Brussels.

Leterme said the move would "make secure" the retail bank inside Belgium and free it from "any risks resulting from the environment within parent body Dexia SA".

Finance Minister Didier Reynders said his government had offered four billion euros for the entity, an amount he said was "reasonable".

He told a news conference: "With this agreement, the wish of the Belgian government is not to remain indefinitely in (control of) its bank nor to leave rapidly, but to ensure its continuity."