Georges-Louis Bouchez à la Libre: “It is out of the question to sell Belfius now, you must first constitute a common group with Ethias”

However, this scenario does not appeal to the president of the MR at all. HAS Freehe told this Thursday all the harm he thinks of such an operation. “”We are not going to sell Belfius now, that’s for sureslice the liberatedL. It is out of the question to sell Belfius now. We must first constitute a common group between Belfius and Ethias, a large unique bancassurer. There are possibilities. Sell ​​Belfius now would have no sense in terms of market value or with regard to the current size of the company. A large bancassurer will have much more value in the long term. We would also have a strategic industrial tool for the country, while retaining a high level of dividends for the State (by the conservation of the entire Belfius).”

Wever government could sell 20 to 30 % of Belfius by July 21

For Georges-Louis Bouchez, the creation of a large Ethias-Belfius group will not prevent a sale, an IPO. But in only a few years: “We could put it on the stock market in a few years, once the integration has been carried out. We would then have a Belgian industrial champion with a Belgian anchoring. With all the investments that we will have to make in the coming years, we will have to have a powerful financial organization. In addition, this would have operational consistency: Belfius and Ethias have the same types of customers and are very active in the public authorities, they also have a network of agencies, etc.“

Maintain the siege of Ethias in Liège?

Some voices have been raised in recent months against the constitution of this large group, especially on the side of Liège. In the event of a merger of Belfius and Ethias, the insurer, whose brand new headquarters is located in the Ardent City (along the new tram route), could leave the Walloon metropolis. In any case, this is what we fear on the edge of the Meuse. For the president of the MR, guarantees could be provided on this subject: “We can, if this allows you to relax one or the other representative, keep a seat in Liège at first. We will see over time. Those who want to prevent the merger between Belfius and Ethias currently do it for miserable considerations: a little urban renovation (in Liège, in connection with the new headquarters of Ethias, editor’s note)etc. We can give guarantees. It is not this kind of thing that will have an impact on the great industrial strategy that we could have.“

MR lists in Flanders in the next elections? Georges-Louis Bouchez will decide for January 1, 2028 at the latest