Fortis Investments trumps BNPP in Asia merger

Ahead of the final ballot at Fortis's annual meeting in the Dutch town of Utrecht on the sale of the company to the French bank BNP Paribas, the management at BNP Paribas has already worked out the numbers of positions they plan to cut from the business, sources with direct knowledge of the matter say. Local business heads at BNP Paribas were briefed of the decisions and told to arrive at their respective integration plans overnight yesterday. "The message is: as long as these Fortis…