Fortis was one of the first European banks to seek a state bail-out last September when it faced an acute liquidity crisis but has since been split into nationalised Dutch banking and insurance businesses, a state-owned Belgian bank, and the listed group running the remaining insurance arm.
Ping An, the Chinese insurer, is the biggest shareholder in Fortis with a stake of about 5 per cent.
In a rowdy meeting, the shareholders ignored repeated warnings from the acting chairman, Jan-Michiel Hessels, that Fortis faced potential bankruptcy if the BNP sale did not go through. After the vote, the company insisted that represented only a worst-case scenario.