Fortis, BNP plan to incorporate commods -sources

Tue, Oct 7 2008, 10:35 GMT
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LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Fortis Bank and BNP Paribas will incorporate their commodities trading activities, including carbon, but have yet to decide how they will be structured, sources close to the banks said on Tuesday.

BNP Paribas agreed on Monday to scoop up assets in Belgium and Luxembourg of banking and insurance group Fortis for 14.5 billion euros ($20.1 billion) -- to become the euro zone's biggest deposit bank.

"We are progressing as normal," a source close to BNP said.

"BNP Paribas as a group is interested in Fortis' deposit base, including commodities, but how that will be structured has not been defined yet."

There were no plans to close or sell off Fortis carbon trading assets, said another source.

Fortis has actively acquired tradeable carbon offset assets from developing countries in a growing trade that aims to satisfy demand in industrialised countries for cheap options to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"There are certainly no plans to close Fortis carbon activities," said the second source. "There are going to be changes. We have to figure out what they will be."

Administrators of the London operation of Lehman Brothers said last week they had failed to find a buyer for the fixed income business of the fallen bank, prompting expectations of the closure and sale of its carbon assets and trades.

(Additional reporting by Nina Chestney, editing by Anthony Barker) Keywords: CARBON FORTIS/

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