Dexia Examining Options On Ex-Chairman's Severance

Dexia, the bailed-out Franco-Belgian lender, said on Wednesday it was looking into a severance package granted to former chairman Pierre Richard, forced to resign after the group's initial rescue, Reuters reported. The French government, which injected 3 billion euros ($3.94 billion) into Dexia's 2008 rescue alongside 3.4 billion from Belgium and Luxembourg, earlier this year asked the bank to examine how it could recover funds paid to the former chairman as part of his exit package. Newspaper Le Monde reported that Dexia's board had mandated a labour law specialist to look into the case. "The French government's board representative asked the company to look into this issue, which we are doing with our internal and external lawyers," a Dexia spokesman said when asked about Richard's controversial pension, declining further comment. Read more.