Press Release: Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Fortis’ Belgian and Luxembourg assets by BNP Paribas subject to divestment of BNP’s Belgian consumer credit subsidiary

The European Commission cleared, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of the Belgian and Luxembourg subsidiaries of Fortis Holding, namely Fortis Bank Belgium, Fortis Banque Luxembourg, and Fortis Insurance Belgium, by BNP Paribas, a bank with retail operations primarily in France. This clearance is subject to the full divestment of BNP Paribas Personal Finance Belgium SA/NV ('PFB'), formerly Cetelem Belgium, including its stake in Fidexis and in the credit processing venture Cetelem Services (an EEIG), to which, inter alia, KBC Bank is also a party. The Commission's concerns were related to the issuing of credit cards in Belgium and partly in Luxembourg, where the merged entity would have become by far the largest player, thereby reducing clients' choice for credit cards. To address the Commission's concerns, BNP offered to divest entirely its Belgian credit card arm, PFB. In light of this commitment, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.