Belgian Parliament to Hold Hearings on Belfius Partial Sale in September
The Belgian Chamber of Representatives’ Finance Committee will hold parliamentary hearings in the third week of September to scrutinize the federal government’s plan to sell a 20% stake in state-owned bank Belfius and the potential merger with insurer Ethias, RTBF reported. The hearings, requested by the Socialist Party (PS), mark a significant step in the political debate surrounding the partial privatization of the bank.
Background: From Dexia’s Collapse to Belfius’s Success
Belfius has been fully owned by the Belgian state since 2011, when the government nationalized the Belgian division of Dexia during the financial crisis, paying approximately €4 billion. The bank was renamed Belfius in March 2012 and has since become a success story, consistently posting strong profits and paying substantial dividends to its sole shareholder — the Belgian state.
According to VRT NWS, Belfius posted a record net profit of €1.127 billion in 2024 and €1.16 billion in 2025. Financial-economic journalist Michaël Van Droogenbroeck noted: “The federal government has been the owner of a commercial bank for 15 years. Actually, that wasn’t the intention. It’s the result of the banking crisis.”
The Sale Process
The federal government officially launched the sale process on June 22, 2026, appointing Bank of America Securities as financial advisor. Interested parties have until July 3, 2026, to submit letters of intent. The government has opted for a private placement rather than an initial public offering (IPO), with the sale expected to raise up to €2 billion to reduce Belgium’s national debt.
Finance Minister Jan Jambon (N-VA) has indicated that the proceeds would help lower Belgium’s high public debt — one of the highest in the European Union — and reduce interest costs. According to Belga News Agency, the transaction will not take place via an IPO, and the government will instead attract institutional or strategic investors.
The Ethias Dimension
A key point of political contention is MR (Mouvement Réformateur) leader Georges-Louis Bouchez’s push for a merger between Belfius and Ethias before the sale proceeds. Bouchez aims to create a “Belgian giant” in financial services. However, the proposal faces significant hurdles. Ethias CEO Philippe Lallemand has dismissed the merger speculation as “rumors that come back every year,” and the Walloon and Flemish governments have shown no interest in selling their stakes in the insurer.
The core cabinet agreed to “investigate” the merger proposal — a move that Van Droogenbroeck described as “a friendly way to find an argument not to do something. So that chance seems slim.” The SFPIM (Federal Holding and Investment Company) will conduct a study on Ethias’s future scenarios by July 21, 2026.
Political Divisions
The partial sale has exposed clear political fault lines. The PS (Socialist Party), which requested the parliamentary hearings, opposes the privatization. The MR strongly supports the sale and the Ethias merger. CD&V has historically been tied to the Arco cooperators issue, which blocked a planned IPO of Belfius in 2018. Notably, that issue is no longer part of the current debate.
The Arizona coalition government — comprising N-VA, MR, CD&V, Les Engagés, and Vooruit — holds a market-oriented philosophy, believing the state should not be a permanent owner of a commercial bank.
What the Hearings Will Cover
During the September hearings, the Finance Committee will hear from representatives of Belfius, Ethias, Euronext, the SFPIM, the National Bank of Belgium (BNB), academic experts including Mikael Petitjean, Bruno Colmant, and Ivan Van de Cloot, as well as the Flemish Federation of Investors (VFB).
Analysis and Outlook
The partial sale of 20% is unlikely to have direct visible consequences for Belfius customers, according to analysts. However, the state stands to lose 20% of the substantial dividends Belfius pays annually — currently hundreds of millions of euros — and will cede direct control over a significant financial institution.
Several outstanding questions remain: Who will be the eventual buyer? Will the Ethias merger materialize or be shelved? Could the government eventually sell more shares, moving toward full privatization? And how will the parliamentary hearings in September influence the sale process?
With the investor deadline set for July 3 and parliamentary scrutiny scheduled for September, the coming months will be critical in determining the future of one of Belgium’s most significant state-owned assets.