Dexia agrees rescue deal

Dexia has become the first bank to fall victim to the euro zone debt crisis.
It's agreed to a state rescue package worth 4 billion euros.
After a marathon 14 hour meeting at the weekend, the Belgium government agreed to buy the group's retail banking business following fears it could go bust.
France and Luxembourg will join Belgium in guaranteeing the banks assets worth 90 billion euros over the next 10 years.
But Belgium's caretaker prime minister said the bailout will have little impact on the tax payer.
(SOUNDBITE)(Dutch) BELGIAN CARETAKER PRIME MINISTER YVES LETERME SAYING:
"The tax payer will not be taxed too much, because the risks are controlled and the costs of the operation are relative."
Dexia has one of the largest exposures to Greece as well as Italian, Portuguese and Spanish debt.
Last week the bank was denied access to wholesale funds and its shares were suspended after plunging 42 percent.
Dexia's chairman said the government's intervention was inevitable.
(SOUNDBITE)(French) DEXIA CHAIRMAN JEAN-LUC DEHAENE SAYING:
''It's clear that the banking sector crisis gave governments a difficult choice: to intervene or face a problem with all the banks customers, which in turn would have a systemic effect on the Belgian economy."
Dexia's global credit risk stands at 700 billion dollars - more than twice the GDP of Greece.
It's bailout now raises fears that other European banks may also need the help of governments to secure their future.
Hayley Platt, Reuters.