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PARIS—France and Belgium are set to hold talks, possibly over the weekend, in an effort to reach consensus on how to dismantle
Dexia SA, the Franco-Belgian lender, people familiar with the matter said.
Dexia has delayed a critical board meeting, initially scheduled for Saturday and aimed at deciding on how to break up the bank, to allow for more talks between its key government shareholders, these people said.
The two governments differ on a number of issues, which must be resolved to orchestrate an orderly break-up of the bank, they said. One of the main bones of contention is the fate of Dexia's retail unit in Belgium. To reassure retail customers that their deposits are secure, the Belgian government is considering nationalizing the unit; meantime, the French government would prefer selling it to a private buyer, they said.
Like the French government, part of Dexia's management is willing to explore the sale of its Belgian unit to a rival private bank, with the hope it can squeeze a better price than through a disposal to the Belgian state, the people familiar with the matter said. On Friday, Belgian labor unions said they would support a nationalization of the unit and oppose a transaction with a private buyer.
Further complicating talks on the fate of Dexia's Belgian unit is the position of Belgium's powerful regions, Flanders and Wallonia, which also own shares in Dexia. On the one hand, they are wary of being shortchanged if the bank is nationalized by the federal government, the people familiar with the matter said; on the other, they don't want the bank sold to a private buyer because of concerns that Belgian deposits will be tapped by the new foreign owner to give loans elsewhere.
The federal government of Belgium declined to comment.
Another issue under discussion is how to split the burden of government guarantees, which both France and Belgium have committed to provide on funds raised by Dexia. The bank owns a €95 billion ($127.66 billion) portfolio of long-term bonds that generate hefty refinancing needs. The Belgian government says most of the portfolio was amassed by the French side in Dexia and that France should therefore provide the bigger part of guarantees.
Hit hard by the fallout of the Greek sovereign-debt crisis and gripping liquidity problems, Dexia is considering dismantling itself by selling all its core assets, including a municipal lender in France, an asset-management unit in Luxembourg and the retail bank in Belgium. Assets that can't be sold would remain in Dexia, which would effectively become a so-called bad bank, backed by France and Belgium.
Dexia said the Saturday board meeting was delayed to a later date, possibly on Sunday.
The French and Belgian governments each have direct, 5.7% interests in the bank.
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