Belgium is scrambling to secure the planned sale of troubled banking group Fortis NV to BNP Paribas SA just days ahead of a shareholder vote after the largest shareholder, a Chinese insurer, said Sunday that it will vote to block the deal. The decision by China's Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. is a blow to the Belgian government's plans and the latest sign of growing activism by Chinese investors who took stakes in Western banks last year that have since turned sour, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s affiliate Luxembourg Residential Properties Loan Finance filed for bankruptcy court protection in New York, Bloomberg reported. The Chapter 11 petition lists assets and debt of more than $1 billion each. According to court documents, the Luxembourg-based company is affiliated with Lehman Brothers and seeks to be consolidated with Lehman’s bankruptcy case. Luxembourg Trading Finance S.a.r.l. owns 100 percent of the affiliate’s equity, according to court documents. Lehman filed the largest bankruptcy in history on Sept.