Fortis was thrown an €11.2bn (£8.8bn) lifeline on Sunday night as the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments combined to inject capital into the embattled banking and insurance group in an effort to shore up confidence among savers.

The partial nationalisation, which is likely to have far-reaching consequences for Europe’s financial services industry, was announced in Brussels by Yves Leterme, Belgium’s prime minister, after a frantic weekend of talks involving ministers, central bankers and financiers.