“Pierre Mariani was desperate to raise cash. The eurozone crisis had made investors shy away from lending to just about any European bank in recent months, but Dexia, the Brussels-based financial group where he was entering his fourth year as chief executive, was finding it even more difficult.”

“International lenders that provided Dexia’s day-to-day liquidity had become so spooked by its €21bn ($29bn) portfolio of Greek, Italian and other peripheral eurozone government bonds that they were increasingly reticent to supply further financing.”

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