Belgium sells 2.5% of BNP Paribas as banks reach for plucky block trade

The Belgian government sold the first chunk of its stake in BNP Paribas for €2bn through a structured trade that began on Wednesday night. The four bookrunners priced the trade aggressively and were left long of some stock, but luck has been with them so far, write Jon Hay and Aidan Gregory. They will be praying their fortune holds and Emmanuel Macron wins the second round of the French presidential election on Sunday.