PARIS (MNI) – France’s Finance Minister Francois Baroin welcomed
the European Commission’s approval on Wednesday of a joint financial
guarantee of up to E45 billion being offered by the governments of
France, Belgium and Luxembourg for the troubled Franco-Belgian banking
company Dexia SA.

The guarantee is valid through May 2012 and can be renewed with the
approval of the Commission. The guarantee pertains to financial
contracts and instruments with maturities up to three years.

The three governments will share the guarantees in the same
proportion they did when they bailed out Dexia three years ago: 60.5%
for Belgium, 36.5% for France and 3% for Luxembourg.

–Paris newsroom, +331=42-71-55-40; bwolfson@marketnews.com

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