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Fortis Group

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Fortis N.V./S.A. (B) / Fortis N.V. (NL)
Company typePublic (Euronext: FORA, Euronext: FORB, LuxSE: FOR)
IndustryFinancial services
Founded1990
Headquarters Brussels, Belgium and Utrecht, the Netherlands
Key people
Filip Dierckx (CEO since 27 September 2008)
ProductsCommercial bank
Investment bank
Insurance
Revenue€120.5 billion (2007)[1]
€4.074 billion (2007)[1]
Number of employees
56,866 (2006)
Websitewww.fortis.com

Fortis (Euronext: FORA, Euronext: FORB, LuxSE: FOR) is a banking, insurance, and investment management company. In 2007 it was the 20th largest business in the world by revenue[2], but most of the company was sold in parts in 2008.

The Benelux countries were Fortis' home base and its strength. Fortis' banking operations included network (retail), commercial, and merchant banking; its insurance products included life, health, and property/casualty lines. Products were sold through independent agents and brokers, financial planners, and through Fortis Bank branches. It is listed on the Euronext Brussels, Euronext Amsterdam, and Luxembourg stock exchanges.

The name Fortis is still used by the sold parts. It will continue to be used for Belgian parts sold to BNP Paribas, but in the course of time the name will be abandoned in the Dutch parts.

History

Fortis Bank

Fortis came into being in 1990, as the result of a merger of AMEV, a large Dutch insurer and VSB, a Dutch Banking Group; these were joined later that same year by AG, a Belgian insurer.

In addition to acquiring a retail bank in Poland, Fortis acquired 89.3% of the shares of Turkey's fifth largest privately owned bank Dışbank from Doğan Group on 11 April 2005. Considering the outstanding public shares, the total bid is approximately €985 million. From 28 November 2005 on, the network of 173 branches of Dışbank were rebranded Fortis.

As of 2006 its profits were €4.56 billion according to Forbes magazine with a market value of €45.74 billion.

Fortis acquired Dryden Wealth Management from Prudential Financial on 4 October 2005.

Fortis Insurance UK has its own in-house worldwide medical emergency service, Assistance International. Fortis is the shirt sponsor of the R.S.C. Anderlecht and Feyenoord Rotterdam football clubs. Fortis is also the main sponsor of the Turkish Football Cup and the Luxembourg National Division.

Acquisitions

  • MeesPierson N.V. was acquired in 1996 from ABN AMRO, giving Fortis an instant presence in investment banking
  • Algemene Spaar- en Lijfrentekas / Caisse Générale d'Epargne et de Retraite (ASLK/CGER) acquired in 1999 by Fortis
  • Générale de Banque / General Bank (Generale Bank/Générale de Banque) was acquired in 1999 by Fortis
  • Krediet aan de Nijverheid / Crédit à l'Industrie, (now called Fintro)
  • In October 2006 Fortis signed a joint venture with An Post (Irish postal service) to provide financial related services through the An Post network of offices.
  • In October 2006 Fortis acquired 100% of Polish retail bank, Dominet, which is full service retail bank with 806 employees and over 125 branches and franchises and is also in strong position in the car finance segment such as car loans.
  • Pacific Century Insurance Holdings was acquired in 2007, now called Fortis Insurance Company (Asia) Limited
  • On October 8 2007 a consortium of three European banks, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Fortis and Banco Santander, announced the acquisition of ABN AMRO. After the split, Fortis would get the retail and business activities in the Benelux and the international investment company; integration of the retail activities into Fortis Bank to be subject to permission of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB); the business activities to be re-sold because of EU-regulations on market share.
  • On October 3 2008 an announcement was made that the Dutch Government had agreed with the Belgian Government to buy Fortis Bank Nederland, Fortis Verzekeringen Nederland and Fortis Corporate Insurance. On October 5 the Belgian Government announced to have bought Fortis Bank, and to have re-sold 75% of it to BNP Paribas, which also bought Fortis Insurance Belgium. The Government of Luxembourg holds a third part of Fortis Banque Luxembourg. The actual Fortis Group itself remained as virtually an empty shell, holding only Fortis Insurance International, a small company.

ABN AMRO and its aftermath

Fortis was part of the consortium with Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) and Banco Santander, that announced on October 8, 2007, that an offer for 86% of outstanding ABN AMRO stock had been accepted, making way for the largest ever bank takeover in history.[1] On November 1 2007, an extraordinary shareholder meeting was held to change ABN AMRO's management. Mark Fisher from RBS took over as CEO. At that meeting the consortium stated that 97% of all shares were in their hands.

Fortis would use the ABN AMRO brand name for Fortis's retail banking operations in the Netherlands.

Shares

Issuing extra shares

To finance the purchase Fortis issued extra shares, available to the existing shareholders at a discount, making for the special bargain price of €15 per share.

However, by June 2008, Fortis announced that an international financial crisis was coming and that it needed to fortify its capital by raising an additional € 8.3 billion. An extra 200 million shares were issued at €10, at that time the price of the share, but in the bigger view of things still a bargain; these were placed the same day with large investors. A major worry was the upcoming future write-off on ABN-AMRO: the price paid included a huge amount for intangibles that could not be put on the balance sheet. The write-off would only occur if and when ABN-AMRO would cease to be an independent bank (on the integration of the retail activities of ABN-AMRO into Fortis), but Fortis would then be in danger of no longer meeting the standards for capital required of banks. Another sore point was the loss on the sale of the business activities; as the sale was forced (because EU regulations) this was not effected at full value: a €300 million loss was reported on the sale. However, it later became known that although Lippens, the chairman of the Supervisory Board of Fortis had claimed to have moved heaven and earth at the EU (only stopping short of taking the EU to court) to get an extension of the time limit so as to gain bargaining space (and a better price) it had not actually applied for an extension. Commisioner Kroes reported there had been no contact whatsoever. Lippens explained that it had been merely a figure of speech.

Share value

The raising of the additional €8.3 billion was effected partly by eliminating the year's dividend, saving €1.5 billion. However, Votron previously had explicitly and repeatedly promised that the dividend would be paid out untouched. This dividend had for decades been one the main selling-points of the Fortis share, which was as safe and reliable an investment as a bank. Eliminating it dismayed the shareholders, and share value dropped from above €12 to just over €10 on June 26 (reducing the value of the company by over €4 billion), followed by a further decline. On July 11, 2008, the CEO of Fortis, Jean Votron, stepped down. The total value of Fortis, as reflected by share value, was at that time a third of what it had been before the acquisition, and just under the value it had paid for ABN Amro's Benelux activities alone.[3] Share price continued to waver below €10.

Votron was succeeded as CEO by Herman Verwilst, who after a few weeks held a press conference to introduce himself and to reassure the shareholders that Fortis was solid. He succeeded in making a good impression and share price firmed up. This was helped by the announcement that Maurice Lippens, from the supervisory board, had personally bought a large amount of shares (at just below €9 per share). However as the markets in general declined so did the share price of Fortis. On Thursday September 25, 2008 shares plunged (to €5.5 intraday) on a rumor that the Rabobank had been asked to help out in Fortis's financial difficulties. When the rumor was denied by both Fortis and Rabobank the shares recovered somewhat. The next day, Fortis put out a press release that since the begin of 2008, only about 3% of the deposits stalled at the bank were withdrawn[4] and the CEO (Verwilst) held a press conference to reassure analysts and stockholders. He did not produce actual figures on the state of affairs,but merely stated that Fortis was solid and that there was no reason at all to believe a bankruptcy was at hand[5]. Shares plunged again (closing at a little over €5); the CEO stepped back that same evening and Filip Dierckx was named as the new CEO[6][7], to be approved by a shareholder meeting. In one week time the shares of Fortis had dropped 35%[8] (20% in the last two days).

According to the Shareholder Circular (of November 20) it was only on September 26 that liquidity problems began, with large withdrawals by business customers, due to the rumours. According to the court proceedings of the Ondernemingskamer (of November 24) on Friday €20 billion was withdrawn, with an additional withdrawal of €30 billion expected for Monday. There were no solvency problems only liquidity problems. The government of Luxembourg approached Fortis with an offer of assistance, and Fortis drew up a plan with the governments of Luxembourg and Belgium contributing €2.5 billion and €4.5 billion, for a temporary (one year) 49% share in Fortis Banque Luxembourg and Fortis Bank, respectively.

Governments step in

Fortis then became subject of discussion on an emergency meeting of the Dutch and Belgian minister of finance and financial regulators, and rumours about partial or total takeovers are spread[8][5]. It was later reported that other banks had indeed made preliminary take-over bids (ING offering €1.50 per share, and BNP Paribas €2), but these talks were curtailed, as governments took central place[9] Fortis was partially nationalised on September 28, 2008, with the three Benelux countries investing a total of €11.2 billion (US$16.3 billion) in the bank. The initial press releases reported that Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg would invest respectively €4.7 billion, €4 billion and €2.5 billion in the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg Fortis Banks. In actuality, Belgium purchases 49% of Fortis Bank SA/NV (Fortis's overall banking division), with the Netherlands doing the same for Fortis Bank Nederland (part of Fortis Bank SA/NV). Luxembourg has agreed to a loan convertible into a 49% share of Fortis Banque Luxembourg (also part of Fortis Bank SA/NV).[10] This meant that only a third of the banking division would still be owned by Fortis Group, and that only a third of any future profits by the banking division (including the investment branch) would benefit the shareholder. However, the shareholder would still get the full profits of the insurance division; also, he was assured of the safe continuation of the company.

At the same time, it was announced that plans to integrate the retail activities of ABN AMRO into Fortis had been stopped, and that these activities would be sold. A sale at less than €12 billion would have consequences for the core equity of Fortis (core equity at that moment was reported at €30 billion, or circa €13 per share)[11].

The next day share price first rose, but then plummeted, taking the rest of the market with it (a 'Black Monday'). However, it never dropped all too much below €4; over the rest of the week it recovered, never quite achieving €6; it closed the week at €5.4. Part of the turn-around was caused by the announcement on September 30 by Fortis that Ping An had withdrawn from the collaboration in Fortis Investments; the market welcomed this as a sign that Fortis was now strong enough to handle this alone[12].

According to the Shareholder Circular (of November 20) in this week large withdrawals by business customers continued, causing further liquidity problems. The national banks provided emergency credit (€59 and 7 billion, from the Belgian and Dutch banks, respectively) and this was indeed used, almost to the full extent (€54 and 7 billion, respectively).

Divestment of Dutch assets

On October 3, in a press conference (at 18.00h), broadcast live on tv, the Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch Minister of Finance Wouter Bos and DNB-president Nout Wellink announced that the Dutch government will purchase the Dutch banking and insurance divisions of Fortis for €16.8 billion ($23.3 billion). The Dutch government will become holder of Fortis Bank Nederland, Fortis Verzekeringen Nederland and Fortis Corporate Insurance, as well as the retail activities of ABN AMRO still held by Fortis.[13] This was later confirmed by a press release of the Dutch ministry of finance.[14]. At the same time the Luxembourg government increased its control of its part to 52%.

The Belgian Prime Minister Leterme welcomed this as good news for customers, shareholders and personnel, saying that this provided a solid foundation for the future [15].

However, Belgian newspapers reported an immediate widespread Belgian outrage. The Dutch were accused of 1) not coming through with the promised €4 billion support, 2) orchestrating a withdrawal of funds by Dutch businesses from Fortis Bank Nederland in the previous week, forcing the National Bank of Belgium to come up with €50 billion in emergency credit, 3) cutting off credit lines to Fortis from other banks, notably from ABN-AMRO (owned by Fortis!) and 4) threats from the De Nederlandsche Bank. In this way the Dutch had forced the sale of whatever they wanted, below market value. Also, the wording by Dutch Minister of Finance Bos in his public announcement of October 3 was resented; he had emphasized that the Dutch companies he had bought were quite healthy and had now been safeguarded, which appeared to imply that the problems were all in the Belgian parts of Fortis, which thus were rotten.

In a tv-appearance on Sunday October 5, DNB-president Nout Wellink reminisced on the negotiations, revealing that the Dutch, in the end, had paid more than strict market value, to help out the Belgians. He assured the audience that the remaining (Belgian) part of Fortis was now a very well capitalized company.[16]

Later, the Dutch media reported that the Dutch after coming home from the agreement on September 28 were badly upset at the deal they had made. At the time, only a verbal agreement, on broad outlines, had been made and when it became time to put things to paper they realized that their €4 billion was only going to buy them a 50% share in a company they were only mildly interested in (Fortis Bank Nederland, later sold for €5 billion total) and that the Belgians for their €4.7 billion were getting a 50% share in the overall banking holding (including not only Fortis Bank Nederland and Luxembourg, but also Fortis Investments and ABN-AMRO). In addition, it became apparent that the Belgian government had secured additional rights on the Dutch insurance company. Thus, while Dutch Minister of Finance Bos was openly defending the agreement in parliament he was secretely conferring frantically on a re-negotiation.

On October 21, the Dutch government announced a future merger between ABN-Amro and Fortis Bank Netherlands to create a "strong Dutch bank". The Dutch insurance division will be sold.

Takeover by BNP Paribas

After the announcement on October 3, the Belgian government went into an all-weekend emergency meeting, to confer about Fortis. The purpose stated by the Belgian Prime Minister was to prevent the value of the shares from dropping further and to ensure that Fortis would not be sold cheaply, “niet voor een appel en een ei”, as the Dutch saying goes, “not for an apple and an egg”.

On Sunday evening October 5, 2008, De Tijd reported that French bank BNP Paribas would take a majority stake in Fortis, with the Belgian and Luxembourg governments reduced to minority shareholders with blocking power in exchange for shares in BNP Paribas.[17] The deal does not include the main holding company, but does include the insurance and banking subsidiaries, except for Fortis Insurance International.[18][19]. In more detail, the Belgian government bought the remaining 51% of Fortis Bank SA/NV from Fortis Group for an additional €4.7 billion, split off a portfolio of €10.4 billion in structured products, in which it sold a 66% share back to the Fortis Group (at €6.9 billion) and then sold a 75% share of Fortis Bank SA/NV to BNP Paribas, at an evaluation of €11 billion for the total company, to be paid by shares, making the Belgian government the biggest shareholder in BNP Paribas (at 12%). The initial investment by Belgium (€4.7 billion), and presumably that by Luxembourg (€2.5 billion), and the price paid for the Dutch banking activities (€12.8 billion) remain with Fortis Bank SA/NV, while those received for the insurance companies (€4 billion from the Dutch and €5.73 billion from BNP Paribas) go to Fortis Group. After paying for the 66% share in the portfolio and paying a debt (involving a write-off on ABN AMRO), total cash remaining with the Fortis Group is approximately €100 million. [20]

According to the Shareholder Circular (of November 20) the Belgian Government in this weekend threatened to disown Fortis Bank outright, paying only a token €1 (total); the Board of Directors felt they had done well to hold out for the €4.7 billion, so as to have a least some shareholder value remaining in Fortis Group. The €20 billion which was paid into Fortis Bank before and after this weekend meant that there were no solvency problems, but these were not sure to resolve the liquidity problems, even though the Dutch were going to pay back the emergency credit enjoyed by Fortis Bank Nederland (€50 billion) almost immediately (and did indeed do so).

In an after-the-fact analysis (November 20), De Tijd reports that on Saturday October 4 both Fortis and the Belgian government went into emergency meetings, but separately. Fortis re-calculated what the remaining company could do, and figured it could earn €1.7 to 2 billion annually; a presentation to that effect was put together for the benefit of the government (this was never actually shown). The government, on the other hand, focused on selling to BNP Paribas. Apparently, a major factor in the thinking of the government was the storm raised in the press, on how the Belgians had lost out to the Dutch, and how Belgium had been left with the rotten parts of the company; this led to an atmosphere of defeatism, and they just wanted to be rid of the mess. Negotiations with BNP Paribas did not go smoothly, the French being adamant that they wanted only the banking parts and certainly wanted no part in the risky 'toxic' structured products. Also, they wanted the bank cheaply. Finally, the government caved and agreed to let Fortis Group deal with the 'toxic' structured products (after all, Fortis had caused the problem), while selling only the actual bank to BNP Paribas. They did manage to raise the valuation for the bank somewhat (€11 billion total, which considering the cash just paid into the bank still constituted a minus value of many billions for the actual banking activities). Also, they managed to get a slightly better price for the insurance company. [21]

Dutch and Belgian shareholders' associations have requested a review of the takeover. Dutch law requires shareholder approval for major changes in a company, or its daughter-companies. [22][23]

According to the Fortis website, Fortis Bank will be the 100% property of the Belgian government (from October 5) till mid December, at which point a share-swap with BNP Paribas will take place. However, BNP Paribas has already launched a major advertising campaign, in anticipation.

Fallout

On October 6, CBFA, the financial services regulatory authority for Belgium, announced that trade in Fortis shares was put on hold and permission to resume trading will be given after Fortis has published enough information about the remaining assets within Fortis.[24]

On October 14 Fortis issued a press release stating that its cash position of €10.4 billion was sufficient to meet the €9.5 billion debt left by its component parts, and that an additional 125 million shares had been issued[25]. Trade in Fortis shares was resumed that same day at 11 a.m., opening at €2 and closing at €1.21 (a 77.77% loss from its previous close).

On November 15 the Belgian newspaper De Standaard reported that BNP Paribas had re-opened the negotiations on October 8, and had demanded to decrease the agreed-on price. The reason was an existing convertable loan between Fortis Group and Fortis Bank. In the end the Belgian Government loaned €3 billion to Fortis Group and in return took out a security on the portfolio it had just sold to Fortis Group. Apparently this was the reason for the suspension of the trade in shares, although neither Fortis Group nor the Belgian Government at any point prior to November 15 reported on what was happening or how this affected the value of the assets remaining in the holding[26]. In response to the press report, Belgian politicians put the blame for the deception squarely with Fortis Group, pointing out that the Government had given out the details, but that the media had not picked up on it (among the welter of operations in support of banks) [27] [28].

Remaining parts

What remained in Fortis Group was Fortis Insurance International, a company valued in the range of €1 to 2 billion, and the 66% share Fortis had purchased from the Belgian Government in the portfolio put together by the Belgian Government (paid with, as later became apparent, cash loaned by the Belgian Government).

Data released on 14 november 2008 (for the special, dual meetings of shareholders on 1/2 december 2008) show Fortis booking a €24.6 billion loss (circa €10 per share) on the sale of its parts[29]. Shareholder's equity of Fortis Group was stated to have decreased to €3.5 billion per October 31 (less than €1.5 per share)[30].

Special plan

On October 12, the Belgian government announced a plan to recompense the long-term small shareholder. The profits enjoyed by the Belgian government are to be put in a special fund, which will pay out in 2014.

  • Beneficiaries are natural persons, who are EU-citizens, or residents of Belgium, who held shares on October 3, and who applied for this.
  • The maximum to be paid out per share is €10 (price of the share on July 1) minus the price of the share five days after trade is resumed
  • This will be paid for a maximum of 5000 shares per person, and only for those shares in possession continually from July 1 to October 3 (but not necessarily after that).
  • The fund will hold the total value of the BNP Paribas shares and received dividends minus the initial investment (€9.4 billion, with an accumulated 6.1% interest per year) and minus any losses suffered on the 24% part of the portfolio of structured products held by the Belgian government.

A multitude of legal proceedings was threatened, and some were indeed effected:

  • In a case brought, among others, by the VEB, the Dutch association of shareholders, before the Ondernemingskamer, in Amsterdam, Fortis defended itself, October 31, by putting the full blame on the Dutch government and the DNB. These had first brought extreme pressure to bear and then had made a deal directly with the Belgian Government. All that remained for Fortis was to sign, perforce, on the dotted line. Thus, they were innocent of the disaster[31]. The court's ruling was made known on November 24; in anticipation trade in the share was suspended for the second part of the afternoon (from 15.45h onwards, at a share price of €0.59). In its ruling the Dutch court instituted a legal investigation into the affair (by a Committee of three), costs to be borne by Fortis, but not to exceed €600,000. The court declined to obligate Fortis to get shareholder approval, noting in wonderment that this had only been requested by the European Association of Shareholders but not by the Dutch Association of Shareholders[32].
  • In a case brought by Modrikamen on behalf of Belgian shareholders before the Belgian rechtbank van Koophandel, in Brussel, the Openbaar Ministerie, November 6, stated that the sale to BNP Paribas was illegitimate, unless it was approved by the meeting of shareholders[33]. The ruling was made known on November 18; in anticipation trade in the share was suspended for the afternoon (from 13.45h onwards, at a share price of €0.71)[34]. The judge ruled that Fortis' Articles of Association did not require shareholder approval and that the sale was legitimate under Belgian law; the Board of Directors had indeed acted under duress. However, information to the shareholders had been inadequate. Also, the court appointed a Committee, of three, to look at the financial side of things[35].
  • Rumors of a legal suit to be brought against erstwhile chairman Lippens by Russian bilionair Kerimov were denied by the latter, November 20[36].
  • It is reported that the Chinese goverment, brought into it by Ping An, has threatened to invoke a treaty, which stipulates that a government (party to the treaty) may only nationalize a company if this is done legally and if damages are paid (going by the value just prior to nationalization). The Belgian government should pay out €1.8 billion to Ping An to prevent this. Also the Chinese government is reported to consider a complete ban on Chinese investments in Belgium[37]. The Belgian prime minister Leterme rejected this claim, as the treaty had not yet been ratified by the Wallonian subgovernment. The investment of Ping An in Fortis had been ill-advised and Ping An should bear the consequences of its own actions[38].

Meetings of shareholders

Fortis announced to hold shareholder meetings on December 1 and 2, in The Netherlands and Belgium, with the convocation appearing on November 14. On the agenda is a justification of the sale, but not the opportunity for the shareholders to approve or disapprove this[39] [40]. What is on the agenda is the new composition of the Board of Directors (with a new chairman, at a salary of €800,000) and the question whether Fortis can be continued. Under Belgian law a 50% majority (or a simple majority, in a second meeting) is required for a company suffering this bad a loss to be allowed to continue to exist.

However, Ping An (a major shareholder in Fortis Group, holding 4,8%) has demanded that approval of the sale is put on the agenda, and has announced to be willing to go to court over the matter. By its own Articles of Association, Fortis is required to accept such a request from a shareholder who holds a minimum of 1% of the outstanding shares, but this applies to the (annual) Ordinary General Meeting (Article 18b.4ii; the request must be made in writing, 60 days in advance), not necessarily to an Extraordinary General Meeting[41] [42].

In its Shareholder Circular (November 20) Fortis acknowledges that under Dutch law approval by shareholders is required, but refers to a blanket provision in Dutch law (BW2:8), which states that no agreement or law applies if this would have results that, by standards of reasonablity, are unacceptable.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Fortis Annual Report 2007". Fortis. 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  2. ^ "Fortune Global 500 2007: Fortis". CNN Money. 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  3. ^ "Fortis chief executive out; chairman now faces shareholder anger". International Herald Tribune. 2008-07-13. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  4. ^ "FACTBOX-Finances at Belgian-Dutch group Fortis". Reuters. 2008-09-27. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  5. ^ a b "Talks on future of Fortis to run into Sunday". International Harald Tribune. 2008-09-27. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  6. ^ "Fortis names new CEO after shares plunged". Daily Harald. 2008-09-28. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  7. ^ "Fortis nominates Filip Dierckx as new CEO". Euronext. 2008-09-26. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  8. ^ a b "Belgian, Dutch Regulators Seek to Boost Confidence in Fortis". Bloomberg.com. 2008-09-28. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  9. ^ "Shareholder circular" (PDF). Fortis. 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  10. ^ van der Starre, Martijn (2008-09-29). "Fortis Gets EU11.2 Billion Rescue From Governments". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2008-09-29. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "press release by Fortis Group" (PDF). fortis. 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  12. ^ "Fortis statement on Fortis Ping An asset management partnership" (PDF). fortis. 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
  13. ^ Fortis in Nederlandse handen Template:Nl
  14. ^ Nederlandse staat neemt Fortis Bank Nederland, Fortis Verzekeringen Nederland, Fortis Corporate Insurance en het Fortis-deel van ABN AMRO Holding volledig over Template:Nl
  15. ^ Fortis wordt ontmanteld, Belgian newspaper De Tijd October 3 2008Template:Nl
  16. ^ Interview with Nout Wellink, Buitenhof, October 5 2008 (Dutch)
  17. ^ "'Overname Fortis Bank door BNP Paribas rond". De Tijd. 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2008-10-05. Template:Nl
  18. ^ "BNP Paribas koopt ook Fortis Insurance". De Standaard. 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2008-10-05. Template:Nl
  19. ^ "'Overname Fortis Bank door BNP Paribas rond". De Tijd. 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2008-10-05. Template:Nl
  20. ^ Fortis confirms sale of Banking and Belgian Insurance activities, press release by Fortis Group, 6 October 2008
  21. ^ "De trotse dame ontkleed". De Tijd. 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2008-11-23. Template:Nl
  22. ^ "Verzet tegen overname van Fortis groeit". De Tijd. 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-10-08. Template:Nl
  23. ^ "Fortis shareholders may ask for vote". International Herald Tribune. 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-10-08. Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{langx|en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead.
  24. ^ "Handel_in_Fortis_blijft_opgeschort". De Tijd. 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-10-08. Template:Nl
  25. ^ press release by Fortis Group, October 14, 2008
  26. ^ "Fortis-lijk kost staat 3 miljard extra". De Standaard. 2008-11-15. Retrieved 2008-11-15. Template:Nl
  27. ^ "Niet regering maar Fortis verzweeg dat FPIM extra 3 miljard bijsprong". De Standaard. 2008-11-15. Retrieved 2008-11-16. Template:Nl
  28. ^ "De Tijd en het 'Fortis-lijk'". De Tijd. 2008-11-16. Retrieved 2008-11-17. Template:Nl
  29. ^ "Ontmanteling kost Fortis 24,6 miljard euro". De Tijd. 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2008-11-15. Template:Nl
  30. ^ "Special Report" (PDF). Fortis Group. 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  31. ^ "Fortis wil staat laten opdraaien voor claims". Volkskrant. 2008-10-31. Retrieved 2008-11-15. Template:Nl
  32. ^ "LJN: BG5150, Ondernemingskamer Gerechtshof Amsterdam, 200.015.810/1 OK". Ondernemingskamer. 2008-11-24. Retrieved 2008-11-25. Template:Nl
  33. ^ "Verkoop Fortis aan BNP Paribas niet rechtsgeldig". De Tijd. 2008-11-06. Retrieved 2008-11-15. Template:Nl
  34. ^ "Aandeel Fortis dinsdagnamiddag geschorst". De Tijd. 2008-11-18. Retrieved 2008-11-18. Template:Nl
  35. ^ "Geen opschorting ontmanteling Fortis". De Tijd. 2008-11-18. Retrieved 2008-11-18. Template:Nl
  36. ^ "Kerimov dient geen klacht in tegen Lippens". De Standaard. 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2008-11-20. {{cite web}}: Text "/'Geen_opschorting_ontmanteling_Fortis'.8104854-433.art" ignored (help) Template:Nl
  37. ^ "Peking zet België onder druk in Fortis-dossier". De Tijd. 2008-11-29. Retrieved 2008-12-01. Template:Nl
  38. ^ "Leterme geeft Ping An niets". De Standaard. 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2008-12-01. Template:Nl
  39. ^ "Convocation" (PDF). Fortis Group. 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
  40. ^ "Special Report" (PDF). Fortis Group. 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
  41. ^ "Ping An zet druk op Fortis". De Tijd. 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2008-11-15. Template:Nl
  42. ^ "Ping An dreigt Fortis met een rechtszaak - media". Het Financieele Dagblad. 2008-11-17. Retrieved 2008-11-17. Template:Nl
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