The Belgian government is now planning to sell a 20% stake in retail bank Belfius via a private placement, worth about 2 billion euro (USD 2.3 billion), Finance Minister Jan Jambon told a parliamentary committee of the European nation.
“An IPO is a longer process that is, moreover, more complex and even more dependent on market conditions, certainly in a period of market instability and volatility, such as the period we find ourselves in today. The goal is to attract a private investor with the necessary experience who can actively contribute to Belfius’s strategy and business plan,” Jambon told lawmakers in the lower house on June 10.
As per him, financial markets value the bank at about 10 billion euro.
The Belgian government began the process to sell the stake in late 2025, with the aim of cutting debt while increasing defense spending amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Belfius was created after the state bought the Belgian banking arm of Franco-Belgian lender Dexia in 2011 for 4 billion euro following the 2008 financial crisis.
As per Jambon, the state’s return was already positive thanks to dividends paid since the acquisition. Belfius has paid 1.5 billion euro in the past two years alone.
In March 2026, reports emerged about European private equity group CVC looking for opportunities to buy a stake in Belfius ahead of its possible listing. As per the Reuters report, a CVC projection valued the bank around 10 billion euros (USD 11.58 billion), based on its net profit in 2025 of 1.16 billion euros.
The Belgian government has committed to increasing defense spending, for the first time, to 2% of its GDP by 2029, adhering to current NATO norms. The European country’s defense spending is currently around 1.3% of its GDP. Talking about the NATO target, in June 2025, members of the strategic grouping agreed to increase overall defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.