BNP Paribas bought Fortis in the 2008 panic and became the eurozone's biggest deposit bank

Fortis, the Belgian-Dutch bancassurer, had to be rescued in late September 2008 when depositors and lenders fled. Belgium and Luxembourg took 49% stakes in its banks, but that arrangement lasted only days before it began to unravel.

On 5 October 2008 BNP Paribas stepped in: it agreed to buy 75% of Fortis Bank Belgium and all of Fortis's Belgian insurance operations, plus 66% of the Luxembourg bank, in a deal worth €14.5 billion. Belgium received an 11.6% stake in BNP, becoming its biggest shareholder.

With combined deposits of around €600 billion, BNP Paribas became the eurozone's largest deposit bank — a position it held through the sovereign-debt crisis that followed, while many rivals needed state rescues.

BNP gained 75% of Fortis Bank Belgium plus its insurer for €14.5B, lifting combined deposits to about €600B and becoming the eurozone's biggest deposit bank.

Moved within days while the state rescue was still collapsing

Paid in BNP shares, preserving its own cash

Took a dominant position in a core European market

Gained Belgium as a locked-in major shareholder

In a panic, the well-capitalised buyer can acquire a national franchise at prices rivals can't touch — the balance sheet you built before the crisis decides what you can buy during it.

The Fortis acquisition gave BNP Paribas the deposits and scale that helped it weather the eurozone crisis. Shareholders of Fortis later sued over the terms and won adjustments in 2012, but the Belgian franchise stayed at the core of BNP's retail banking.