Press release by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance on Fortis Group

Yves

03/10/2008

Following on the agreement reached Sunday on the investment by the Governments of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in Fortis Group, the Government leaders of the aforesaid countries met this Friday to:

discuss the strategic development of the entities within the Group
and specify the scope of the intervention by the three governments.

On the basis of this agreement, Fortis Group transferred to the Dutch Government the bulk of the Group’s activities in the Netherlands, in particular Fortis Bank Nederland (Holding) NV, including ABN AMRO, and Fortis Insurance Netherlands NV.

This transfer, involving a sum of EUR 16.8 billion, is such as to safeguard the sustainability of the Group’s liquidity. The transaction is accompanied, moreover, by close consultation with the supervisory authorities as regards the evolution of the liquidity positions of the banking entities in the countries concerned.

This transaction allows the Belgian Government to concentrate, in a clearer context, on the evolution of the Group over the short and medium term, on strengthening governance and on consolidating the restoration of a climate of confidence that has been observed over the past week.

Furthermore, the government reiterates the commitments it has made to savers and customers. Its first priority remains to ensure that no depositor or customer finds him- or herself in difficulty.

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