The Federal Government has sold more than a third of its stake in BNP Paribas, France's largest bank, and plans to use the €2.2 billion in proceeds to acquire a "strategic stake" in key Belgian financial institutions and reduce Belgium's soaring national debt, Belga News Agency reports.
The sale, which was agreed to by the cabinet of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) on 23 January this year, involved the Federal Government winding down its stake in BNP Paribas from 7.8% to 5.1% through the sale of some 33.3 million shares.
By maintaining shareholdings in BNP Paribas greater than 5%, Belgium's Federal Holding and Investment Company (SFPI-FPIM), which manages the Belgian Federal Government's financial assets, will maintain a seat on the board of directors of the French group. BNP Paribas is the parent company of Belgium's largest bank, BNP Paribas Fortis.
The sale means that asset management giant BlackRock, rather than the Federal Government, is now BNP Paribas' largest shareholder.
A strategic decision
In an interview on Wednesday morning on Flemish radio show De Ochtend, Belgian Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) explained that the government's decision to use the proceeds from the sale to purchase shares in Ageas, a Belgian insurer, and Euroclear, a Belgian securities depository, arose from a desire to ensure that they remained under Belgian control.
"We are making a clear choice to anchor them here and ensure that the headquarters do not go abroad or the company ends up in foreign hands," Van Peteghem explained.
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The Minister also noted that slightly less than a quarter of the proceeds — or roughly €500 million — will be used to service the country's national swelling debt, which, at 105% of annual GDP, is currently one of the largest in the EU.
The recent sale is the second time in the past few years that the Federal Government has reduced its stake in BNP Paribas. In May 2017, Belgium sold roughly a quarter of its shares in the French bank (thus reducing its total shareholdings from 10.3% to 7.8%), thereby also pocketing some €2 billion.
The Federal Government first acquired a stake in BNP Paribas during the financial crisis in 2008. Since then, the country has received roughly €3.3 billion in company dividends.
