History of Fortis

N.V. AMEV, a large Dutch insurer, and VSB, a Dutch bank, merged their operations in 1990. They were joined later that same year by AG Group – a large Belgian insurer – to complete the first cross-border financial merger. AG Group boasted a strong position in the Belgian insurance market at the time and was market leader in a variety of sectors. However, the international spread of its Operations was fairly limited and its banking interests were minimal, whereas N.V. AMEV was able to contribute a pretty strong position in the Dutch and the international insurance markets.

Fortis has grown substantially since its inception, thanks to both organic growth and acquisitions. Banking operations were strengthened by a series of takeovers. The group has also disposed of several businesses in keeping with its international strategy.

The facts about Fortis:

1991	1992	1993	1995	1996	1997	1998
1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
2006	2007

2007

On 17 October, Fortis acquires together with its consortium partners ABN AMRO.
In September, Fortis sells its stake in the Spanish bancassurance joint venture CaiFor to ”la Caixa”.
In May, Fortis acquires 98.59% of shares and options of Pacific Century Insurance Holdings Ltd., an insurer based in Hong Kong.
On 1 May, Fortis and An Post launch Postbank, their 50-50 joint venture in Ireland.
In April, Fortis Lease finalises the acquisition of Captive Finance Ltd., bringing its presence to a total of 22 countries.
In March, Fortis acquires Dominet in Poland.
In January, Fortis Investments opens new office in Hong Kong.

2006

After finalising the acquisition of Von Essen KG Bankgesellschaft, opening of two credit shops in both Germany and Poland, aiming for 20 respectively 5 shops by end 2006.
In April, Fortis signed a Memorandum of Understanding with An Post, for the creation of a joint venture with a view to providing financial services in Ireland through An Post’s network of 1,450 post offices. Final agreement signed in October.
Opening of new business centres for Commercial & Private Banking in UK, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Greece.
Fortis Lease acquired Dreieck Industrie Leasing, making it the 3rd largest player in Switzerland. It also acquired two leasing companies (Innotrade Leasing, Takleasing) in Hungary.
Acquisition of Hedge Fund Services, the largest fund administrator on the British Virgin Islands (with EUR 2 billion in assets under management).
In June, Fortis signed an agreement to acquire Cinergy Marketing & Trading, a Texas-based marketing and trading platform with operations in all key North American power and gas markets. Transaction closed on 2 October.
Through its subsidiary Fortis Vastgoed Ontwikkeling, Fortis has signed an agreement in May to acquire 100% of the shares of William Properties, a leading independent Dutch real estate developer.
In July, Fortis, the Industrial Development Bank of India Ltd (IDBI) and Federal Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a life insurance joint venture in India. Initially, Fortis and Federal Bank will own 26% each and IDBI 48%.
In August, Fortis announced that it has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire Etalon Life, Ukraine’s seventh largest Life insurance company, for approximately EUR 7.6 million.
In September, Fortis acquires 4 Faktor Sp.zo.o, a factoring company in Poland.
Investment in new, mainly customer-facing staff: in 2006 more than 9,300 new colleagues (net hiring: 1,400)
Alignment with international CSR standards: endorsement of the revised Equator Principles, the UN Environment Programme for Financial Institutions and the UN Global Compact – an international initiative to advance universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.
Acquisition of Dominet, a Polish consumer finance specialist, of Gutingia, a German life insurer, and of Global (a Romanian leasing specialist).
Fortis Investments created a Russian asset management joint venture (CIT Fortis Investments) and acquired a 70% stake in Cadogan, a leading fund of hedge funds platform.

2005

In January: Fortis acquired a 51% stake in a joint venture (Millenniumbcp Fortis) with Banco Comercial Português at a cost of EUR 514 million. Millenniumbcp Fortis is Portugal’s biggest bancassurer.
Fortis acquired 93.3% of Disbank – the seventh largest privately owned bank in Turkey – in two steps beginning in July. The total acquisition price was EUR 987 million. Disbank will retain its Istanbul listing.
OutRight, a leading provider of personal lines insurance solutions in the UK, was acquired by Fortis in September, followed in December by Affinity Solutions, a financial services consultancy firm specialised in the UK’s affinity market.
Dryden Wealth Management, which offers asset management services to private and institutional customers, was bought by Fortis for EUR 84 million in October.
Fortis was granted a banking licence in the UAE in October. Our new Dubai branch can now offer wealth management services to customers in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Mayban Fortis – a Malaysian joint venture with Maybank – acquired Malaysia National Insurance Holdings.
Atradius Factoring was taken over in November and is being integrated into Fortis Commercial Finance. It will shortly begin to operate under the Fortis brand. Meanwhile, a commercial agreement was concluded between Fortis and Atradius itself, a credit insurer, to use each other’s European distribution networks.
Merchant Banking signed an agreement in November to acquire Chicago-based O’Connor & Co., a leading supplier of clearing services to the US equity, futures and options markets. The acquisition was finalised in February 2006.
Merchant Banking opened two offices in North America (in Calgary and San Francisco).
Retail Banking announced the acquisition in December of Von Essen KG Bankgesellschaft, a German consumer finance bank.
Fortis’s Dutch general insurer (after merger of AMEV, Stad Rotterdam and Woudsend), Banque Générale du Luxembourg and Disbank in Turkey were all rebranded as Fortis in the final quarter.
Commercial & Private Banking opened nine Business Centres in 2005. The acquisition of Disbank also enabled us to open twelve new BCs in Turkey. Trust Offices were set up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Russia and Poland.

2004

January: Fortis and ICBC (Asia) sign an agreement to merge the consumer and commercial banking activities of Fortis Bank Asia HK and ICBC (Asia).
In February Fortis sells its 65% stake in Assurant, Inc. (formerly Fortis, Inc.) in the United States.
March: Fortis enters a partnership with Muang Thai in Thailand and anncounces the sale of GWK in the Netherlands.
In June Fortis acquires of Deutsche Immobilien Leasing France and 10% of Banca Intermobiliare in Italy.
July: Fortis announces the creation of Millenniumbcp Fortis Insurance Group in Portugal and acquires 50% stake.

2003

January: Fortis Bank takes over some of KBC Bank’s retail activities in the Netherlands. (Fortis Bank had already taken over the majority of their corporate banking operations in Nov. 2002).
June: Fortis ASR announces the loss of 750 jobs (14%) over the next three years. This decision is due to the refined long-range plans.
August: Fortis sells subsidiary Theodoor Gilissen Bankiers.
August: Fortis Haitong Investment Management successfully launches the Fortis Haitong Best Selection Fund, its first investment fund on the Chinese market.
September: Fortis joins the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability Stoxx Index. De Dow Jones Sustainability Indices are two of the best known indices that have hooked into the increasing interest in socially responsible investment.
September: Fortis announces its intention to float its non-core US insurance activities in the course of 2004.
November: Fortis Insurance International reaches agreement with Grupo Catalana Occidente on the sale of Seguros Bilbao, a Spanish subsidiary of Fortis.
At the same time CaiFor-subsidiary VidaCaixa concludes the takeover of Swiss Life (España).
December: Fortis ASR announces that it will fully integrate AMEV, Stad Rotterdam and Woudsend into one new business, which will operate under the name Fortis ASR.
December: MeesPierson Intertrust announces that it has finalised the full takeover of KMPG Financial Engineering Luxembourg. KMPG Financial Engineering Luxembourg is the trust and corporate management division of the local KPMG organisation
And Fortis and Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG (BA/CA) reach agreement on the sale of BA/CA Asset Finance Ltd., BA/CA’s lease operation, to Fortis Lease.

2002

In February 2002 Fortis and ING Lease announced that they agreed on the transfer of TOP Lease.
In April 2002 Fortis AG strengthened its property investment portfolio by acquiring Bernheim Comofi in Belgium.
In July 2002 Fortis acquired 100% of Intertrust Group. Intertrust is active in trust and company management.
In December Fortis sells its equity interests in Keppel Insurance Pte Ltd in Singapore.

2001

Fortis, Inc. completes the sale of Fortis Financial Group in the US.
Fortis enters into a joint venture with Maybank, the biggest financial services group in Malaysia.
Fortis, Inc. acquires CORE, Inc.
Fortis acquires the Spanish insurance portfolio of Bâloise.
Fortis sells its Australian non-life insurance company.
Fortis, Inc. signs agreement to acquire Protective Life Corporation’s Dental Benefits Division.
Fortis and China Insurance Group announce Life insurance partnership in China.
Fortis Investment Management signs a strategic alliance with Haitong Securities Co. Ltd. in Shanghai (China).

2000

In January Fortis sells its US private healthcare insurance companies.
In March Fortis increases its stake in Banque Générale du Luxembourg from 53% to 97.73% of the bank’s share capital. This move strengthens Fortis’ presence in its home market, the Benelux region. Banque Générale du Luxembourg will adopt the business line approach of Fortis Bank.
In April Fortis exercises its call option for the remaining 70% of the shares in the Spanish bank Beta Capital. This bank concentrates on private banking and brokerage in the Spanish market.
In September Fortis increases its stake in Belgolaise, a Belgian bank with operations mainly in Africa, from 62% to nearly 100%.
In October Fortis finalises the takeover of the US pre-need funeral insurance company American Memorial Life Insurance Company. This acquisition enables Fortis to expand its market share and increase its management expertise within this specialised market segment.
ASR Verzekeringsgroep N.V. and Fortis announce the merger of ASR and AMEV Nederland N.V. The merger is completed in April 2001, making Fortis the biggest insurer in the Benelux region and the Netherlands’ second-largest insurer operating through insurance intermediaries.

1999

In February Fortis acquires the remaining 25% of the shares of ASLK-CGER.
Fortis completes the takeover of American Bankers Insurance Group, Inc., one of the two leading US credit-related insurers.
Fortis acquires UK insurer Northern Star.

1998

Fortis completes the acquisition of John Alden Financial Corporation, an independent provider of group health insurance and healthcare services for small businesses in the US.
Fortis finalises the takeover of the Pierce National Life Insurance Company, a US funeral insurance company.
In July Fortis completes the merger with Generale Bank in Belgium. In a two-step takeover, Fortis acquires 98.2% of Generale Bank, which merges with ASLK-CGER in June 1999 to form Fortis Bank.

1997

Fortis acquires another 25% of the shares of ASLK-CGER, bringing its stake in this company to approximately 75%.
Fortis takes over the Dutch merchant bank MeesPierson. This takeover bolsters Fortis’ banking operations considerably, particularly in the fields of private, corporate and investment banking, and substantially increases the level and scope of the bank’s investment activities.
Fortis acquires three US insurance companies active in specific market segments, an insurance company in the United Kingdom, and the remaining 13% of GWK Bank in the Netherlands.

1996

Fortis disposes of its non-life operations in the Irish Republic and its life insurance activities in Denmark.
Fortis sells the US car insurance company Superior Insurance.

1995

Fortis takes over the Belgian bank SNCI-NMKN through ASLK-CGER. SNCI-NMKN merges fully with ASLK-CGER in 1997.

1993

Fortis acquires a majority interest in ASLK-CGER, a Belgian bank and insurer, from the Belgian government. This move greatly bolsters Fortis’ activities and expertise in banking and bancassurance.

1992

Fortis enters into a joint venture with ”la Caixa”, a leading bank in Spain. The subsidiaries of this joint venture (known as CaiFor) are SegurCaixa, a non-life insurer in which Fortis has a 60% stake, and VidaCaixa, a life insurer in which Fortis has a 40% interest. Both companies distribute their products through the bank branches of ”la Caixa”.

1991

Fortis takes over the Disability and Life portfolio of the Mutual Benefit Life group in the US.
Fortis acquires Interlloyd, a Dutch insurance company.

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