Dexia has become the first bank to fall victim to the euro zone debt crisis.<br/> It's agreed to a state rescue package worth 4 billion euros.<br/> After a marathon 14 hour meeting at the weekend, the Belgium government agreed to buy the group's retail banking business following fears it could go bust.<br/> France and Luxembourg will join Belgium in guaranteeing the banks assets worth 90 billion euros over the next 10 years.<br/> But Belgium's caretaker prime minister said the bailout will have little impact on the tax payer.<br/> (SOUNDBITE)(Dutch) BELGIAN CARETAKER PRIME MINISTER YVES LETERME SAYING:<br/> "The tax payer will not be taxed too much, because the risks are controlled and the costs of the operation are relative."<br/> Dexia has one of the largest exposures to Greece as well as Italian, Portuguese and Spanish debt.<br/> Last week the bank was denied access to wholesale funds and its shares were suspended after plunging 42 percent.<br/> Dexia's chairman said the government's intervention was inevitable.<br/> (SOUNDBITE)(French) DEXIA CHAIRMAN JEAN-LUC DEHAENE SAYING:<br/> ''It's clear that the banking sector crisis gave governments a difficult choice: to intervene or face a problem with all the banks customers, which in turn would have a systemic effect on the Belgian economy."<br/> Dexia's global credit risk stands at 700 billion dollars - more than twice the GDP of Greece.<br/> It's bailout now raises fears that other European banks may also need the help of governments to secure their future.<br/> Hayley Platt, Reuters.
