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Dexia N.V./S.A., or the Dexia Group, is a Franco-Belgian
financial institution A financial institution, sometimes called a banking institution, is a business entity that provides service as an intermediary for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial ins ...
formed in 1996. At its peak in 2010, it had about 35,200 members of staff and a core shareholders' equity of €19.2 billion. In 2008, the bank entered severe financial difficulties and received taxpayer bailouts for €6 billion, and it became the first big casualty of the 2011
European sovereign debt crisis The euro area crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis, European debt crisis, or European sovereign debt crisis, was a multi-year debt crisis and financial crisis in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until, in Greece, 2018. The ...
. Due to big losses, suffered among others from the debt haircut on Greek government bonds, and an orderly resolution process began in October 2011. As part of the resolution, Dexia Bank Belgium was bought out from the Dexia group by the Belgian state and has continued to operate, since March 2012 under the new name
Belfius Belfius Bank and Insurance, known as Dexia Bank Belgium until 1 March 2012, is a Belgian state-owned bank that emerged from the dismantling of the Dexia group which had been purchased by the Belgian government on 10 October 2011 for 4 billion eur ...
. The French bank focused on local government lending was restructured as SFIL. The remaining part of the Dexia group was left in a "bad bank", still called Dexia, to be gradually wound down.


Profile

In the 2010
Fortune Global 500 The ''Fortune'' Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by '' Fortune'' magazine. Methodology Until 1989, it listed o ...
(which lists companies by total income) Dexia was ranked 49th, the top-ranked Belgian company. The company was founded in 1996 through the merger of
Crédit Communal de Belgique The Crédit Communal de Belgique (, ) was a Belgian financial institution, established in 1860 and eventually merged with Crédit Local de France in 1996 to form Dexia. By the mid-1990s, it was the second-largest Belgian bank by total assets (beh ...
(founded in 1860) and Crédit Local de France (founded in 1987). The Dexia Group was founded as a
dual-listed company A dual-listed company or DLC is a corporate structure in which two corporations function as a single operating business through a legal equalization agreement, but retain separate legal identities and stock exchange listings. Virtually all DLCs a ...
, but in 1999 the Belgian entity took over the French entity to form one company. The company is headquartered in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, Belgium. France and Belgium just injected another combined €5.5 billion ($7 billion) into Dexia.


History


Belgium: Gemeentekrediet van België / Crédit Communal de Belgique

* 1860 – Foundation of the Gemeentekrediet van België / Crédit Communal de Belgique, specifically aimed at financing the investments of the local administrations. The communities were
shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...
s, for a value of at least 5% of the amounts drawn. * 1947 – Development of a network of retail branches that allow drawing funds from the general public through
savings account A savings account is a bank account at a retail banking, retail bank. Common features include a limited number of withdrawals, a lack of cheque and linked debit card facilities, limited transfer options and the inability to be overdrawn. Traditi ...
s. From 1960 on the branches were run by independent agents, allowing a broader range of services and products to be offered and a lasting relationship with clients to be developed. * 1990 – Start of the international expansion of the bank with the creation of the Cregem International Bank in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, specialising in the management of large sums of money. * 1991 – The Gemeentekrediet builds on its international expansion by taking a stake of 25% in the Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL), the biggest bank in Luxembourg. In early 1992 the firm increased its stake in BIL to 51%.


France: Crédit Local de France

* 1987 – Foundation of the Crédit Local de France as a successor to the CAECL (Caisse d'aide à l'équipement des collectivités locales); it was a public administrative institution, managed by the
Caisse des dépôts Caisse, a French word, may refer to: * Caisse Desjardins, an association of credit unions in Quebec * Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears, a road-bicycle racing team * Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a public pension fund in Quebec * Caisse ...
. The Crédit Local de France was a specialised financial institution responding to the needs of local administrations, that have become important economic agents in their own, and make as much use of products and services of the
financial market A financial market is a market in which people trade financial securities and derivatives at low transaction costs. Some of the securities include stocks and bonds, raw materials and precious metals, which are known in the financial marke ...
s as businesses. * 1990 – The Crédit Local de France begins an international expansion with the opening of an American subsidiary, the CLF New York Agency. Aiming at a similar development in Europe, the CLF mainly operated in Great Britain, Spain, Germany and Italy; additional activities were later added in Austria,
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
, and Portugal. * 1991 – Crédit Local de France underwent an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
on the
Paris Stock Exchange Euronext Paris, formerly known as the Paris Bourse (), is a regulated securities trading venue in France. It is Europe's second largest stock exchange by market capitalization, behind the London Stock Exchange, as of December 2023. As of 2022, th ...
. The shareholders at the time were the French State (25.5%), the Caisse des dépôts (25%), and individual investors from France and abroad (49.5%).


Dexia: the group

* 1996: Merger of the Gemeentekrediet / Credit Communal de Belgium and the Crédit Local de France to form Dexia. * 1997: Dexia takes a stake of 40% in the Italian firm Crediop, the biggest privately owned bank specialising in finance for Italian local administrations. * 1998: Dexia increases its shareholding in Crediop to 60%. * 1999: First listing of Dexia Group as a
dual-listed company A dual-listed company or DLC is a corporate structure in which two corporations function as a single operating business through a legal equalization agreement, but retain separate legal identities and stock exchange listings. Virtually all DLCs a ...
on the
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
and Paris stock exchanges in November, at a price of €6.86 per share. In Belgium the stock became part of the
BEL20 The BEL 20 is the benchmark stock market index of Euronext Brussels. It tracks the performance of 20 most capitalized and liquid stocks traded in Belgium. In general, the index consists of a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 companies traded ...
index, and in France of the
CAC 40 The CAC 40 () () is a Benchmark (computing), benchmark French stock market index. The index represents a capitalization-weighted measure of the 40 most significant stocks among the 100 largest market capitalization, market caps on the Euronext Pa ...
. The group broadens its insurance activities in France, Belgium and Germany. Dexia S.A. the Belgium side soon became the parent company of French side Dexia Credit Local. * 2000: Acquisition of Financial Security Assurance (FSA) in the United States, a major player in
credit enhancement Credit enhancement is the improvement of the credit profile of a structured financial transaction or the methods used to improve the credit profiles of such products or transactions. It is a key part of the securitization transaction in struct ...
for municipalities, making Dexia the world leader in the market of financial services to the public sector. Dexia is active in nearly all European countries in this market as well. Start of an annual reserved capital injection to which only Dexia members of staff can inscribe. * 2001: Acquisition of Artesia Banking Corporation, a banking group with activities as retail bank (BACOB), insurance (DVV) and
asset management Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of all value for which a group or entity is responsible. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as complex process or manufacturing plants, infrastr ...
(Cordius). The stake in Crediop grows to 70%, and Dexia gains control over Otzar Hashilton Hamekomi, an Israeli credit provider for local authorities. * 2002: Integration of the Artesia branches in Belgium. * 2006: Acquisition of 99.8% of the Turkish firm DenizBank. * 2006:
Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...
created Institutional Investment Joint Venture with Dexia. It is a 50/50 Partnership called RBC Dexia Investor Services.


Crisis 2008/2009

On 29 September 2008, Dexia came under pressure due to the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
. Other banks and financial institutions refused to provide further credit to Dexia because of potential losses at its U.S. subsidiary FSA and from a multi-billion loan to troubled German bank Depfa. The price of the Dexia share, having peaked above €20 in the previous years, but gradually fallen to around €10, dropped in one day to €6.62. The next day the rating agency
Moody's Moody's Ratings, previously and still legally known as Moody's Investors Service and often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its histo ...
downgraded Dexia's long term debt and deposits ratings from Aa1 to Aa3, and downgraded the individual banks' strengths to C− ("adequate intrinsic financial strength") with a negative outlook. Dexia was quickly forced to apply for a taxpayer bailout. This support was assured within days, taking two forms: * a capital injection of €6.4 billion, consisting of €3 billion from the Belgian State and regional governments, €3 billion from the French State and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and €376 million from the government of Luxembourg. * a state guarantee (effective from 31 October 2008) covering Dexia's liabilities towards credit institutions and institutional counterparties, as well as bonds and other debt securities issued for the same counterparties, for a total maximum amount of €150 billion. Belgium provided 60.5% of the guarantee, with a 36.5% contribution from the French state and 3% from Luxembourg. The three states have the potential to make a profit from their intervention: * the new capital buys Dexia shares at a price of €9.90 per asset * for the state guarantee Dexia has to pay a monthly fee, from which the three states benefit proportionally to their share in the guarantee. The guaranteed amount varies continually as a function of Dexia's loans on the financial markets. It peaked mid-2009 at around €100 billion, but after Dexia managed to start selling non-guaranteed
commercial paper Commercial paper, in the global financial market, is an Unsecured debt, unsecured promissory note with a fixed Maturity (finance), maturity of usually less than 270 days. In layperson terms, it is like an "IOU" but can be bought and sold becaus ...
and
bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Fidelity bond, a type of insurance policy for employers * Chemical bond, t ...
s again, fell to half this size by the end of 2009. In 2009 Dexia paid a fee of 0.5% on the guaranteed credits with a term of less than one year, and 0.865% on the credits longer than one year. The guarantee is currently planned to end in November 2010. Since Dexia had a New York banking office they were eligible for various bailouts from the US Federal Reserve. At its peak Dexia had borrowed $58.5 billion. On 30 September 2008 the company's chairman
Pierre Richard Pierre Richard (born Pierre-Richard Maurice Charles Léopold Defays; 16 August 1934) is a France, French actor, film director and screenwriter, best known for the roles of a clumsy daydreamer in comedy films. Richard is considered by some, such a ...
and CEO Axel Miller were dismissed, and were replaced on 7 October 2008 by former
Belgian prime minister The prime minister of Belgium (; ; ) or the premier of Belgium is the head of the federal government of Belgium, and the most powerful person in Belgian politics. The first head of government in Belgian history was Henri van der Noot in 179 ...
Jean-Luc Dehaene Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene (; 7 August 1940 – 15 May 2014) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber", as well as "The M ...
and Pierre Mariani respectively. On 24 October 2008, Francois Rebsamen, the socialist Mayor of Dijon and a French Senator, vacated his place on the board of Dexia Credit Local, while
Antoine Rufenacht Antoine Rufenacht (; 11 May 1939 – 5 September 2020) was a French right-wing ( The Republicans) politician and former mayor of Le Havre. He took the mayoral seat from Daniel Colliard ( PCF) at the municipal election of 1995 and was reelect ...
,
UMP UMP may refer to: Science * Ultra metal-poor star, refers to a type of star with extremely low levels of heavier elements * Uniformly most powerful test, in statistical hypothesis testing * Uridine monophosphate, a nucleotide * Utility maximizat ...
mayor of
Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
,
Philippe Duron Philippe Duron (born 19 June 1947) is a French politician. He was the mayor of Caen between 2008 and 2014 and deputy for Calvados's 1st constituency. Philippe Duron received a degree in history in 1975 and was a teacher in Lisieux and the ...
, socialist mayor of
Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...
, and Christophe Bechu, president of
Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indr ...
province stayed. At the end of 2008 Dexia sold the healthy parts of FSA, ceased its trading activities in Paris and trading on its own account in the financial markets. Further losses are still possible on the remaining FSA portfolio. On 19 January 2009
Moody's Moody's Ratings, previously and still legally known as Moody's Investors Service and often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its histo ...
lowered the
credit rating A credit rating is an evaluation of the credit risk of a prospective debtor (an individual, a business, company or a government). It is the practice of predicting or forecasting the ability of a supposed debtor to pay back the debt or default. The ...
for Dexia's long term obligations and saving accounts of the three banking parts of Dexia (Dexia Credit Local in France, Dexia Bank Belgium and Dexia Banque Internationale in Luxembourg) from Aa3 to A1. The rating agency also downgraded the Bank Financial Strength Rating for the three banks from C− to D+. On 5 March 2009 Dexia's share price fell to an all-time low of €1.21, a loss of over 90% in a year. A further
restructuring Restructuring or Reframing is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs. ...
plan was announced, with the firm aiming to concentrate on its primary activities, and to avoid risks on the financial markets. A total of 1,500 job cuts were announced, of which more than half were in Belgium, 260 in France, and the rest worldwide. Dexia's share price subsequently increased over the rest of 2009, largely varying between €4 and €7.50. On 31 March 2010 Bloomberg reported that Dexia was one of the largest borrowers from the
discount window Discount may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Discount (band), punk rock band that formed in Vero Beach, Florida in 1995 and disbanded in 2000 * ''Discount'' (film), French comedy-drama film * "Discounts" (song), 2020 single by American rapper C ...
of the United States
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...
, having outstanding loans of over $30 billion.


Losses

In February 2009 the bank announced net losses of 3.3 billion euros (approximately 4.2 billion US dollars) for 2008. The Dexia 2008 annual report mentions among others losses of €1.6 billion from selling FSA, €600 million on portfolios and €800 million on counterparties (including
Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1850. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merril ...
,
Icelandic banks The following is a list of banks in Iceland. Contemporary banks Central * Central Bank of Iceland Commercial * Arion Bank (formerly known as ''New Kaupthing'') * Íslandsbanki (formerly known as ''New Glitnir'') * Landsbankinn (formerl ...
, and
Washington Mutual Washington Mutual, Inc. (often abbreviated to WaMu) was an American Bank holding company, savings bank holding company based in Seattle. It was the parent company of Washington Mutual Bank, which was the largest savings and loan association in ...
) According to the financial services provider
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...
Dexia lost €78 million through the
Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays Profit (accounting), profits to earlier investors with Funding, funds from more recent investors. Named after Italians, Italian confidence artist Charles Ponzi, this type of s ...
of
Bernard Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American financial criminal and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest known Ponzi scheme in history, worth an estimated $65 billion. He was at one time ...
.


2010: Downsizing and reorganizing

On 6 February 2010 Dexia could announce that the European Commission had, under certain conditions, approved of the restructuring plan that was necessary to justify the government support for Dexia and to prevent unfair competition: * some acquisitions had to be undone (Dexia Crediop, Dexia Sabadell and Dexia Banka Slovensko) but banking activities in Turkey, highly promising to Dexia, could continue. * by the middle of 2011 the State Guarantee had to be abandoned * in total Dexia had to downsize by one third by 2014. Vintage retail activities represented a bigger share in profits again in 2010; apart from Belgium and France, Turkey became very promising in this area. So much so that predictions were that Turkish staff would account for half of the Dexia employees by 2014. At the same time, outgoing cashflows were diminished by reducing the bonds portfolio; even selling bonds at a loss, if necessary, which explained to a large extent the lesser profits in 2010. More incoming funds from private saving accounts and less outgoing capital through bonds and loans to public institutions meant that Dexia could already worry a bit less about finding sufficient short term funding. The greater international trust in the company also showed when it announced an early retirement from the State Guarantee in 2010.


2011

Dexia and
La Banque postale La Banque postale (, ) is a French postal bank, created on 1 January 2006 as a subsidiary of La Poste, the national postal service. It has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of European Banking Supervision ...
, the bank subsidiary of the French postal services, reached an agreement in January 2011 about a cash transaction involving covered bonds worth €3 billion. This was presented for La Banque Postale as an investment at market conditions, and as an extra source of liquidity for Dexia. Alleged differences of opinion were reported at the top of Dexia. More specifically about tensions between Belgian directors and the French CEO, Pierre Mariani, concerning on the one hand the deficitary investments that had been mostly done in the French division of Dexia, and the liquid funds that were above all present in Belgium. On 15 July the
European Banking Authority The European Banking Authority (EBA) is a regulatory agency of the European Union headquartered in La Défense, Île-de-France. Its activities include conducting stress tests on European banks to increase transparency in the European financi ...
, as part of its European bank stress tests, gave Dexia a clean bill of health, reporting that its
tier 1 capital Tier 1 capital is the core measure of a bank's financial strength from a regulator's point of view.By definition of Bank for International Settlements. It is composed of ''core capital'', which consists primarily of common stock and disclosed ...
was 12.1 percent, and would fall to 10.4 percent in 2012 under its "adverse scenario". This would make it one of Europe's safest banks. Dexia posted a €4 billion loss for the second quarter, the biggest in its history, after writing down the value of its Greek debt. On 4 October its shares fell 22% to €1.01 in Brussels, cutting its market value to €1.96 billion. Discussions were taking place about a possible breakup, with a plan to place its "legacy" division into a
bad bank A bad bank is a corporate structure which isolates illiquid and high risk assets (typically non-performing loans) held by a bank or a financial organisation, or perhaps a group of banks or financial organisations. A bank may accumulate a large p ...
with government guarantees. On 10 October, it was announced that the Belgian banking arm will be purchased for €4 billion by the Belgian federal government. Some units such as DenizBank and the Luxembourg retail bank will be put up for sale. Part of its French operations are likely to be purchased by
Caisse des dépôts et consignations Caisse, a French word, may refer to: * Caisse Desjardins, an association of credit unions in Quebec * Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears, a road-bicycle racing team *Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Q ...
and
La Banque Postale La Banque postale (, ) is a French postal bank, created on 1 January 2006 as a subsidiary of La Poste, the national postal service. It has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of European Banking Supervision ...
. The remaining troubled assets, including a €95 billion bond portfolio would remain in a "bad bank" that would receive funding guarantees of up to €90 billion provided by the governments of Belgium (60.5%), France (36.5%) and Luxembourg (3%).


2012

On 27 July, Dexia confirms the sale of its 50% share in RBC Dexia Investor Services. The business moves under the sole ownership of
Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...
(RBC) and is renamed RBC Investor Services. In the same year Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (for €730 million) and DenizBank were sold.


2013

In January 2013 Dexia Municipal Agency was sold. It was reported in September 2013 that Dexia had entered into talks with
New York Life Investment Management New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC) is the third-largest life insurance company and the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States, and is ranked #69 on the 2025 Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations by total rev ...
to sell Dexia Asset Management, which was completed on 3 February 2014. In 2013 SFIL was sold.


2014

ECB officials agreed on Thursday 22 May 2014 that Franco-Belgian bank Dexia would not have to demonstrate it could bear a
financial crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with Bank run#Systemic banki ...
in a Europe-wide stress test, reducing the chances of it needing further state aid. The ECB had already acknowledged Dexia's "specific situation", with an assessment of its finances carried out over its 2011 wind-down plan. That EU-approved plans makes Dexia unique among the 128 major euro zone banks being reviewed by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the 124 EU banks that are being subjected to stress tests by the European Banking Authority (EBA). The Comprehensive Assessment completed in October 2014 ahead of the entry into force of
European Banking Supervision European Banking Supervision, also known as the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), is the policy framework for the prudential supervision of banks in the euro area. It is centered on the European Central Bank (ECB), whose supervisory arm is re ...
suggested Dexia had a capital shortfall of €340 million. However, as the bank was guarantee by States, the bank was not required to capital increases. A subsidiary, Dexia Asset Management changed its name to
Candriam Candriam, a subsidiary of New York Life, is a global multi-specialist asset management firm. By 31 December 2022, Candriam had 139 billion euros of assets under management (AUM). Founded in 1998, Candriam manages investments focused on responsib ...
following its acquisition by
New York Life Investments New York Life Investment Management LLC is a U.S. investment management company based in Jersey City, New Jersey. Founded in 1986, New York Life Investment's parent company is New York Life Insurance Company, the largest mutual life-insurance co ...
on 3 February 2014.


2015

In 2015 Dexia announced that it would suffer from the possible default of Heta Asset Resolution, a bad bank from the residual of
Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank International Heta Asset Resolution A.G. is a " bad bank" that was the residual asset of the original Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank International A.G., which was dismantled in 2014. It was owned by the Government of Austria. The bad bank contained the leasing subsidi ...
. Via the subsidiary Dexia Kommunalbank Deutschland A.G. (DKD), Dexia had a loan of €417 million to former Hypo Bank.
Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
state government offered to buy back the senior bonds for 75% par value and 30% for subordinated bonds of Heta. Previously Carinthia had guaranteed the subordinated bond but later Austrian central government, as instructed by European Union, could not provide any more state aid. Moreover, Financial Market Authority of Austria used the power given by EU
Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. As ba ...
, which bail-in the shareholders and subordinated bond holders. On the subsidiaries, Crediop would be run-off, Dexia Credito Local Mexico had been placed in a trust, Dexia Kommunalkredit Bulgaria was liquidated, Dexia Nederland and Dexia Luxembourg (ex-Dexia LdG Banque) abandoned their banking licenses.


2018

Dexia sells its 58.9% interest in Dexia Israel Bank in March 2018. In December 2018, German subsidiary Dexia Kommunalbank Deutschland (DKD) was sold to
Helaba Helaba, short for Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, is a commercial bank with core regions in Hesse and Thuringia, Germany offering financial services to companies, banks, institutional investors and the public sector, both within Germany and interna ...
for €352 million.


Figures


Dexia shares

Dexia was a member of the
BEL20 The BEL 20 is the benchmark stock market index of Euronext Brussels. It tracks the performance of 20 most capitalized and liquid stocks traded in Belgium. In general, the index consists of a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 companies traded ...
and
CAC Next 20 The CAC Next 20 is an index of security prices used with the Euronext Paris or Euronext Amsterdam. It gathers the 20 companies whose market capitalizations are ranked after those of the 40 companies who compose the CAC 40. These 20 are possible ...
indices. Dexia is also one of the components of the Euro STOXX and Euro STOXX Banks indices.


Results


Shareholder structure


BIC

Dexia's BIC codes are: * For Dexia Credit Local: CLFR FR CC


Controversies


Netherlands

Dexia had ambitious plans in the Netherlands, and took over Bank Labouchère from the Dutch insurer
Aegon Aegon Ltd. (stylized as AEGON) is a Dutch public company for life insurance, pensions and asset management. It is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and has 26,000 employees as of July 21, 2020. Aegon is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam a ...
in August 2000 at the height of the market. On top of this, in 2001 the business bank Kempen & Co was bought and removed from the stock market for about €1 billion. The two acquired companies Labouchère and Kempen & Co were merged into Dexia Netherlands. This merger had to be undone however, because of an asset leasing affair that threatened to damage the reputation of Kempen & Co. The asset leasing affair left Dexia in The Netherlands in the end with so much negative publicity that it decided to reduce its Dutch activities. In 2004 Kempen & Co was sold for about €85 million, a fraction of the buying price, to its management, the
Friesland Bank Friesland Bank was a Dutch retail bank originally focusing on the northern provinces of the Netherlands, Friesland, Groningen (province), Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel, and North Holland. On 2 April 2012 Friesland Bank announced that it would be ...
, NPM Capital and . Dexia Bank Netherlands still continues to unwind asset leasing contracts under the commercial name of Legio Lease, and the corresponding agreements and court cases. Dexia suffered a substantial loss in March 2008, after a ruling from the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
on the legality of leasing contracts, in which contracts were considered invalid for married couples of which both partners had not signed the contract. Dexia as a consequence had to repay these debts plus accrued interests. Luckily for Dexia many customers had previously agreed to a less favourable Duisenberg-agreement and could not revoke this. Eventually only 3,000 of the hundreds of thousands of Legiolease customers profited from this ruling of the High Council.


Sustainability

According to research of Netwerk Vlaanderen Dexia in 2005 together with
AXA Axa S.A. is a French multinational insurance corporation headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It also provides investment management and other financial services via its subsidiaries. As of 2024, it is the fourth largest financi ...
,
Fortis Fortis may refer to: Business * Fortis (Swiss watchmaker), a Swiss watch company * Fortis Films, an American film and television production company founded by actress and producer Sandra Bullock * Fortis Healthcare, a chain of hospitals in ...
,
ING Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...
and KBC invested over €6.6 billion in companies that were involved in human rights violations. The companies and projects in which banks invest are controversial because of their support for dictatorial regimes, forced displacements and forced labour. The criticism concerns among others investments in a gas pipe line in
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
and the BTC pipe line through Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. In 2005 Dexia announced a new policy concerning the weapons industry. Companies involved in the production of
anti-personnel mine An anti-personnel mine or anti-personnel landmine (APL) is a form of land mine, mine designed for use against human, humans, as opposed to an anti-tank mine, which target vehicles. APLs are classified into: blast mines and fragmentation mines; ...
s will be completely barred from banking services. For investment funds there is no limitation of investments in the weapons industry. Dexia did on the other hand rank 17th in 2011 on the list of '
The Global 100 The Global 100 Index is an annual ranking of the world's most sustainable corporations. The list is published by Toronto-based media and research company, Corporate Knights (and announced each year during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switze ...
Most Sustainable Corporations in the World'. Dexia was the third company from the financial sector on the list.


Israeli settlements controversy

Through its Israeli subsidiary, Dexia operates in certain Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Several Belgian and French NGOs mounted campaigns to attract attention to this. Leading ultimately in 2011 to concrete plans to sell the Israeli division, .


Remunerations


Axel Miller

After his forced departure in October 2008, CEO Axel Miller was contractually entitled to a 'golden parachute' of €3.7 million. This provoked protest from the French president
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
, and Miller subsequently renounced his bonus, leaving the matter to "the wisdom of the Board of Directors". The board eventually decided to pay him one year's salary (€825,000), thus ignoring Sarkozy's remarks. The French
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
stated in April 2009 that it had voted against the payout, but that its representatives on the board were outnumbered.


Salary of Pierre Mariani

Axel Miller's successor, Pierre Mariani, close to
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
, obtained a salary that is 30% higher than that of Miller. The board of directors unanimously accepted on 13 November 2008 to upgrade the yearly salary of the CEO to €1 million, and to fix the maximum bonus at €2.25 million. Miller's salary was €825,000, with a maximum bonus of €1.8 million.


Bonuses in 2008

Within Dexia Crédit Local, the French component of Dexia group, a pool of €8 million was dedicated to the bonuses of the leading managers, mainly directors. The management indicated that the sum would be shared among 400 to 765 employees.


"Golden hellos"

Philippe Rucheton, the financial director appointed by Dexia in April 2009, coming from
Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English-speaking countries as SocGen (), is a French multinational universal bank and financial services company founded in 1864. It is registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby i ...
, received a welcome bonus of €500,000.


Bonus 2010

In 2010 Dexia announced its plan to provide CEO Pierre Mariani with a bonus of €600,000. For
Jean-Luc Dehaene Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene (; 7 August 1940 – 15 May 2014) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber", as well as "The M ...
a remuneration was planned of €88,000. The allotment of high bonuses at Dexia and competitor KBC caused some commotion in Belgium. Leading the city of Ghent to remove some €30 million in short term investments from Dexia and KBC.


Buildings


Dexia Tower

The Dexia Tower, the firm's new head office in Brussels, is with its height of 137m an icon in the business district of Brussels-North. In December 2006 the tower was equipped with
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...
lighting. A total of 126,000 programmable LED strips have been fitted. From 22 December 2006 to 15 January 2007, the colours of the tower could be chosen by the public from a
touchscreen A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of electronic visual display, display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically l ...
. It was spin-off and occupied by
Belfius Belfius Bank and Insurance, known as Dexia Bank Belgium until 1 March 2012, is a Belgian state-owned bank that emerged from the dismantling of the Dexia group which had been purchased by the Belgian government on 10 October 2011 for 4 billion eur ...
(ex-Dexia Bank Belgium).


Tour Dexia

The Tour Dexia at
La Défense La Défense () is a major business district in France's Paris metropolitan area, west of the city limits. It is located in Île-de-France region's Departments of France, department of Hauts-de-Seine in the Communes of France, communes of Courbe ...
, previously known as the CBX tower, is the bank's Parisian headquarter since 2007.


See also

* List of investors in Bernard L. Madoff Securities *
Panama Papers The Panama Papers () are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) published beginning April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities. These document ...
*
Rogier Tower The Rogier Tower (; ) is a skyscraper located in the Northern Quarter central business district of Brussels, Belgium. It owes its name to the Place Charles Rogier/Karel Rogierplein on which it is situated. It is the fifth tallest building in ...


References


External links

*
Dexia Crédit Local France
{{Authority control Banks of Belgium Banks of France Banks established in 1996 Government-owned companies of France 1996 establishments in France Companies formerly listed on Euronext Paris Companies listed on Euronext Brussels Banks under direct supervision of the European Central Bank Companies listed on Euronext Brussels Defunct banks of France