France, Belgium, Luxembourg Meet on Dexia

The economy ministers of France, Belgium and Luxembourg will meet in Brussels on Wednesday evening to discuss the future of troubled financial group Dexia, diplomatic sources said.

The meeting will take place after Belgium's inner cabinet meets at Prime Minister Yves Leterme's office with new Dexia CEO Pierre Mariani and Chairman Jean-Luc Dehaene.

The tandem was appointed on Monday as shares in the cross-border municipal lender and retail bank continued to fall despite a 6.4 billion euro ($8.72 billion) emergency rescue by the three governments and public-sector bodies last week.

One diplomatic source said France has been pressing to break up the group along national lines.

But Leterme said after meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on Monday that they would wait for the new management to assess the situation and make recommendations.

Dexia's shares lost another 15.4 percent on Wednesday to close at 4.99 euros on the Euronext market after Standard & Poor's downgraded the parent company on Tuesday for the second time in a week.

Leterme urged depositors on television on Tuesday not to withdraw funds from Dexia, vowing the government would stand by the bank.

"We will take responsibility, as we did in the case of Fortis. Above all, I have to say people should remain calm. There is absolutely no reason to withdraw deposits. Dexia is a healthy bank," the prime minister said.