French bank to take majority stake in troubled Fortis

French banking giant BNP Paribas will take a majority 75% share of troubled bank Fortis, Belgium’s prime minister said tonight.

Yves Leterme says the Belgian and Luxembourg governments will in turn take a blocking minority share in BNP Paribas.

The deal came after two days of closed-door talks between the Paris-based bank, Fortis and government authorities in an effort to restore confidence in the company before markets opened tomorrow.

The bank has been caught up in the financial credit crisis and has faced weeks of plummeting stock values amid fears that it would go insolvent.