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About Fortis
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Fortis’s roots go very deep. Here are some of its key forebears:
AMEV In 1883 a modern-style life insurance business was added to the fund, the Levensverzekering Maatschappij Utrecht. A family firm dominated by the families Bol, Ingenegeren, Negerman and Verloop, De Utrecht soon managed to develop a leadership position through writing new business and growth by acquisition. These families served on the management and supervisory boards for five generations and, to safeguard their interests and facilitate acquisitions, created the Algemeene Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Verzekeringsmaatschappijen in 1920 (A.M.E.V.). The wave of consolidation that swept through the industry in the 1960s called for much bigger alliances and put an end to the family nature of the business; many life and non-life insurers now joined the A.M.E.V. group under its new name AMEV. By 1974 the integration was complete. In 1983 AMEV grouped its Dutch operating companies in an NV: AMEV Nederland.
As soon as regulatory restrictions on combining banking and insurance were lifted,
AMEV was the first Dutch insurer to enter into a fully-fledged bancassurance
alliance: with VSB Groep in 1990. In that same year AMEV and Belgium’s insurer
AG Groep merged their operating activities, taking the name of Fortis.
VSB Groep The Second World War was a sombre period for the industry. Savings banks stood
by helplessly while their deposits dwindled and large sums of money were diverted
from Jewish accounts to a so-called ‘robber bank’. After the war,
the government and savings banks exploited every opportunity to emphasise the
importance of saving, resulting in explosive growth of the services offered
by savings banks. In the 1980s, legislation was amended to allow these banks
to provide business services in addition to their traditional savings and mortgage
services. The result was that savings banks became general banks and traditional
savings institutions ceased to exist. Vereniging Centrumbank (Amsterdam), Spaarbank Rotterdam and Bondsspaarbank Breda joined forces in 1981 and began operating under the name Verenigde Spaarbank in 1983. In May 1990, the insurer AMEV merged operations with the public limited company VSB Groep to become AMEV/VSB 1990 N.V.
To pump new life into the social
ideals rooted in the past and to put to use the enormous capital acquired from
the merger with AMEV, the 180-year-old Stichting VSB was transformed into VSB
Fonds. In 1990 the Belgian insurer AG Groep joined forces with the Dutch AMEV/VSB
to form Fortis. ASLK-CGER ASLK-CGER acquired the Société Nationale de Crédit à l’Industrie or SNCI (NMKN in Dutch) in 1995. CGER-Assurances was transformed into a subsidiary of CGER-Banque. Fortis bought an additional tranche of CGER-Banque shares in 1997. At the same time, Crédit à l’Industrie was taken over as part of the merger
with CGER-Banque. The commercial brand name, used by over 400 branches, was retained. Fortis acquired General Bank/Générale de Banque in 1998, marking the beginning of the far-reaching integration of the groupCrédit à l’Industries banking operations. Fortis Bank was created in 1999
from the merger of Générale de Banque and the ASLK-CGER in Belgium, and Generale
Bank Nederland, VSB Bank and MeesPierson in the Netherlands. Banque Générale du Luxembourg Luxemburg began to play a key role in those years in the international financial world. BGL set up a dealing room in 1969 and was prominently involved with the Eurobond in the late 1970s. Branches were opened in Milan, Hong Kong and Frankfurt. Expansion also occurred in 1982 in Zurich, with a view to broadening the bank’s shareholder base. In 1984, BGL successfully opted for a listing on the Luxemburg Stock Exchange. BGL operates as a universal bank, providing commercial banking services to its customers in Luxemburg. It is also active as an investment bank and international financial service provider. BGL continues to offer its broad range of services and to develop its international operations. BGL and Fortis formulated a joint strategic position in 2000, when Fortis announced that it was also to increase its majority stake in BGL. Since November 2005, BGL
has been marketed under the Fortis brand name. Fortis AG Fortis ASR Generale Bank/Générale de Banque Foreign banking operations flourished after the Société Générale took part in 1872 in the creation of the Paris-based bank ‘Société française et belge de Banque et d'Escompte’. This was followed by the Banque d'Outremer, Banque du Congo Belge, Banque Sino-Belge and Banque Brésilienne Italo-Belge. Together, these institutions formed the beginnings of the international banking group. The London-based subsidiary Banque Belge pour l'Etranger kept the group's operations going during the First World War and the occupation of Belgium. After the end of the conflict in 1918, the Société Générale helped rebuild Belgian industry. The group's structure now went through a fundamental change, with most of the protected banks being transformed into local administrative offices of the new institution. By 1945, the bank had a network of over 350 agencies, having continued its operations during the Second World War primarily from the Belgian Congo. The Société Générale de Banque was set up in 1965 and steadily doubled its number of agencies, which stood at 1,060 in 1973. The expansion of its network was completed in 1975 with 3,500 agencies in Belgium. The company adopted the name Générale de Banque (Generale Bank in Dutch) in 1985. The business
strategy was altered in 1995, when Générale de Banque became a ‘European banking group of Belgian origin’. Fortis acquired Générale de Banque in 1998. Fortis Bank was created in 1999 from the merger of Générale de Banque and ASLK-CGER in Belgium,
and Generale Bank Nederland, VSB Bank and MeesPierson in the Netherlands. Krediet aan de Nijverheid/Crédit
à l'Industrie The company’s range of operations was expanded in 1961, sparking off a period of spectacular growth. Capital requirements were huge. The bank opened its first fully-fledged branch office in 1966. NMKN-SNCI and ASLK-CGER decided in 1968 to harmonise the expansion of their networks – an agreement that lasted for almost 20 years. NMKN-SNCI’s network of agents developed rapidly in the 1970s. By 1974 there were 1,200 independent agents, more and more of whom were working as full-time branch operators. NMKN-SNCI played a pivotal role as an intermediary and manager of government subsidies to the textile industry and, in particular, the steel sector. The shorter Krediet aan de Nijverheid/Crédit à l'Industrie names became familiar in Belgium in the 1980s. For several years, the company presented itself to its private customers as the ‘Little Blue Factory’ (its logo) that’s ‘at home in saving’. When the alliance came to an end in 1986, Crédit à l'Industrie immediately threw itself into developing a range of services entirely of its own. In 1994, it was given the go-ahead to start banking operations. That same year,
the government decided to place the state’s shareholding with ASLK-CGER Holding.
Crédit
à l'Industrie was taken over by CGER-Banque in 1997. MeesPierson Disbank While the Bank focused on trade finance in early 1980s, the focus shifted to corporate banking and capital market activities in the 1990's. In late 1999, Disbank embraced an accelerated growth strategy to play a leading role in commercial and retail banking while maintaining the core business of trade finance and corporate banking. Since its foundation Disbank has also maintained a traditional expertise in international trade, and currently offers services through its nationwide branch network of 173, including its OBU in Bahrain. Disbank redesigned its business model to provide fully integrated financial services through its financial subsidiaries, including Dis Yatirim (Investment arm), Dis Leasing, Dis Factoring, Dis Portfolio Management and Dogan Emeklilik (pension fund). Strengthening its capital structure through time, and thanks to its high performance in the Turkish banking sector, Disbank has achieved a higher level of respect and accountability in foreign financial circles. In April 2005, Fortis made an agreement with Dogan Holding to acquire full
ownership of Disbank and its subsidiaries. In July, further to the approval
of the Turkish regulatory and governmental authorities, Fortis has acquired
full ownership (89,34 %) for the agreed price of EUR 880 million subject to
price adjustment. In October, Fortis has made a public bid for the remaining
10,66 % of Disbank, that has been publicly traded since 1981. |
