BNP bids vetoed

Your support helps us to tell the story

Support Now

Find out moreClose

As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.

Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.

Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election

Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

THE BOARDS of French banks Societe Generale and Paribas last night each rejected the hostile $37bn (pounds 23.4bn) double bid from BNP, which gatecrashed their agreed merger on 9 March.

However, the votes were not unanimous; Claude Bebear, chairman of the insurance group AXA who sits on both boards, dissented in each vote, while Jean Gandois, representing BNP on the Paribas board, also voted against the decision to reject BNP's share-swap offer.