29/04/2008 Decisions taken by the General Meetings of Shareholders of 29 April 2008 The Annual General Meetings of Shareholders of Fortis SA/N.V. and Fortis N.V. have approved all proposals put forward by the Board of Directors.
Dividend
Fortis paid an interim dividend of EUR 0.70 per share in September for the first half of 2007, in line with the dividend policy of paying 50% of the full-year dividend for the previous financial year. The 2007 interim dividend adjusted for the rights issue amounts to EUR 0.586 per share.
Given the adjusted 2007 interim dividend of EUR 0.586 and a proposed final dividend of EUR 0.59, the total proposed dividend for 2007 comes to EUR 1.176 per share in cash. The final dividend will be payable from 27 May 2008.
Each Fortis share represents one share in each of the two Fortis parent companies, Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V. Shareholders can opt to receive the dividend from Fortis SA/NV, the Belgian source, or from Fortis N.V., the Dutch source. They need to make their preference known during the dividend election period.
22/04/2008 Fortis launches life insurance operations in India IDBI Fortis Life Insurance, the joint venture between IDBI, Federal Bank and Fortis in India, has launched life insurance operations. Following approval from all regulators, the company has started selling a full range of life insurance and long-term saving products across the country.
15/04/2008 Fortis named Clearing Service of the Year Fortis Clearing was recently named Clearing Service of the Year by the Futures & Options World (FOW) Magazine, a subsidiary of the prestigious Euromoney Group. Fortis was selected by a panel of peers and an online poll.
03/04/2008 Fortis and ABN AMRO announce the first step in the sale of parts of ABN AMRO Business Unit Netherlands Today Fortis and ABN AMRO announce the first step in the sale of parts of the commercial banking activities of ABN AMRO Business Unit Netherlands (BU NL). This consists of Hollandsche Bank Unie N.V., two corporate clients units and 13 commercial advisory branches. In addition, the Dutch factoring company IFN Finance B.V. will be sold. All these businesses are currently part of ABN AMRO in the Netherlands.
The proposed sale is in line with the commitments made to the European Commission (EC) on 3 October 2007 aimed at overcoming the EC’s concerns regarding concentration in the Dutch banking market resulting from Fortis’s acquisition of certain ABN AMRO assets. The EC wants assurance that a solid player will enter the Dutch commercial banking market. Fortis and ABN AMRO are taking all necessary steps to comply with the EC’s requirements.
02/04/2008 Ping An and Fortis finalise global asset management partnership agreement Today in Shenzhen (China), Ping An and Fortis officially signed the final agreement that formalises the establishment of a global asset management partnership between the two companies. The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Shenzhen Mayors, senior management from both parties, advisors and other dignitaries in Shenzhen.
31/03/2008 Fortis publishes Annual Report and CSR Report for 2007 Fortis today publishes its Annual Report and CSR Report for 2007. The reports, which are available at www.fortis.com, are being published simultaneously in order to underscore Fortis’s commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
19/03/2008 Ping An and Fortis to enter into a global asset management partnership Ping An intends to acquire a 50% stake in Fortis Investments
Fortis and Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (“Ping An” or “Ping An Group”) today jointly announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to form a global asset management partnership. Ping An intends to acquire a 50% equity stake in Fortis Investments*, the global asset management arm of Fortis, for a consideration of EUR 2.15bn (RMB 24.02bn**). Through this partnership, Ping An would significantly advance its strategy to establish a global asset management business and a Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (“QDII”) platform while Fortis would significantly accelerate the development of its business in both China and Asia Pacific.
12/03/2008 Fortis awarded ‘Best Carbon Trader 2008’ Fortis has received the ‘Best Carbon Trader 2008’ award from Point Carbon. The award was presented at the prestigious Carbon Market Awards at the Carbon Market Insight conference. Each year, Point Carbon announces the winners for Best Trader, Best Broker and Best Project Developer.
06/03/2008 Fortis Board of Directors nominates KPMG as sole auditor as of 2009 Fortis announced today that its Board of Directors will propose to the 2008 Annual General Meetings of Shareholders the appointment of KPMG as its sole auditor as of the financial year 2009. Fortis decided on 9 August 2006 to request KPMG and PwC, its two existing auditors, to submit a tender. A tender process was organised in 2007, giving both firms the opportunity to prepare under the best possible conditions. The decision, subject to regulatory approvals, to assign the external corporate and consolidated audit of Fortis SA/NV, Fortis N.V. and their subsidiaries to a single audit firm will further improve the efficiency of the audit procedure.
05/03/2008 VINCI and Fortis enter into exclusive negotiations to create the world’s leading car park operator VINCI and Fortis today signed a memorandum of understanding with a view to combining their respective activities in the public car park industry. This combination would be achieved through VINCI Park, a subsidiary of VINCI Concessions, and Interparking, a subsidiary of Fortis Real Estate. Both groups would share the equity of the new entity, which would be majority owned by VINCI, Fortis retaining a significant holding. The new entity would manage 1.3 million parking places in 1,800 car parks in 16 countries worldwide.
27/02/2008 Santander purchases from Fortis ABN AMRO’s asset management activities in Brazil Fortis and Santander today announced that they have reached an agreement by which Santander will purchase from Fortis the Brazilian asset management activities of ABN AMRO, which Fortis acquired as part of the Consortium’s (RBS, Fortis and Santander) purchase of ABN AMRO. Fortis will retain the Latin American (ex-Brazil) institutional sales and some equity investment teams related to funds distributed through ABN/Fortis channels.
28/01/2008 Financial Calendar 2009 Fortis has set the dates in 2009 for the publication of its results, its Annual General Meetings of Shareholders and relevant dividend dates.
22/01/2008 Fortis teams up with Green Award Foundation Fortis and the Green Award Foundation have jointly announced a cooperation agreement whereby Fortis has become a Green Award Incentive Provider.
27/12/2007 Fortis agrees to sell its stake in ICBC (Asia) to ICBC Fortis announces today that it has agreed to sell its approximately 8.23% stake in ICBC (Asia) (being 100,913,330 shares and 11.2 million warrants) to ICBC, the parent company of ICBC (Asia), for a total consideration of around EUR 170 million. The sale is part of the plan to finance the acquisition of certain parts of ABN AMRO.
21/12/2007 Fortis raises EUR 210 million from former holders of ABN AMRO preference shares Fortis today completed an issue of preference shares of Fortis Bank Nederland (Holding) N.V. These preference shares, which were issued as an alternative instrument, were offered to the former holders of non-listed preference shares of ABN AMRO Holding N.V.
30/11/2007 Fortis takes next step in financing the acquisition of certain ABN AMRO assets THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, SOUTH AFRICA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN OR IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH OFFERS OR SALES WOULD BE PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW
Offering of Convertible And Subordinated Hybrid Equity-linked Securities (“CASHES”)
As part of its plan to finance the acquisition of certain ABN AMRO assets, Fortis announces today that it intends to make an offering of Convertible And Subordinated Hybrid Equity-linked Securities (“CASHES”) of up to EUR 2.5 billion (subject to an increase option of up to an additional EUR 500 million). The bookbuilding will take place in the course of today.
30/11/2007 Fortis successfully places the offering of Convertible And Subordinated Hybrid Equity-linked Securities (“CASHES”) THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, SOUTH AFRICA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN OR IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH OFFERS OR SALES WOULD BE PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW
As part of its plan to finance the acquisition of certain ABN AMRO assets, Fortis announces today that it has priced and successfully placed EUR 3.0 billion of Convertible And Subordinated Hybrid Equity-linked Securities (“CASHES”).
29/11/2007 Fortis welcomes Ping An as a key shareholder - Additional information On 28 November 2007, after the closing of trading hours on Euronext Brussels and Amsterdam, Ping An and Fortis entered into an agreement setting forth the rules applicable to Ping An’s shareholding in Fortis.
29/11/2007 Fortis and EOS enter into a partnership in debt collection Fortis Consumer Finance and EOS have reached an agreement by which EOS will acquire 50% joint control of Aremas, a subsidiary of Alpha Credit, part of Fortis Consumer Finance. Together, the new partners will further establish Aremas as a key player in the Belgian and Luxembourg debt collection market, and are looking forward to developing their strategic partnership.
27/11/2007 Fortis awarded ‘Bank of the Year in Western Europe’ The Banker, an international magazine from the Financial Times Group, has awarded Fortis ‘Bank of the Year in Western Europe’ for the first time. Fortis was also elected as ‘Bank of the Year in Belgium’ for the fifth time in six years. Previous winners of the Western Europe award have included BNP Paribas (2006), Grupo Santander (2005), and Royal Bank of Scotland (2004).
During the awards ceremony in London on 28 November, CEO Jean-Paul Votron will receive the award from Stephen Timewell, The Banker’s Editor-in-Chief. The award highlights that Fortis is the natural financial partner to do business with at home and abroad. It also confirms the fantastic performance achieved over the past year by the company’s management and employees.
16/11/2007 Steven Braekeveldt appointed CEO of Fortis Insurance International Europe Fortis Insurance has appointed Steven Braekeveldt (47) as CEO of Fortis Insurance International Europe, with effect from 1 December 2007. Steven will be in charge of the European insurance operations of Fortis outside Belgium and the Netherlands. He will report to Peer van Harten, CEO of Fortis Insurance.
13/11/2007 Fortis finalises the sale of its holding in its Spanish joint venture, CaiFor, to “la Caixa” Fortis announces that it has finalised the sale of its interests in the Spanish bancassurance joint venture, CaiFor, (i.e. 50% in CaiFor and 20% in SegurCaixa) to “la Caixa”, for a total cash consideration of EUR 980 million, including 2007 interim dividend of EUR 30 million.
05/11/2007 Fortis transformation reflected in new top management structures Fortis will restructure its top management as of 1 January 2008. The Executive Committee will be recomposed and responsibilities redistributed. A Business Executive Committee - which will replace the Fortis Management Committee – will be installed and will operate in closest collaboration with a Group Executive Committee. Taking into account the Fortis managers who have already taken up responsibilities within ABN AMRO, Fortis is convinced it now has the adequate management structure in place, not only to guarantee the successful integration of the acquired businesses, but also to develop Fortis as a whole.
02/11/2007 2 November 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander Update on Acceptances of ABN AMRO Shares Fortis, RBS, Santander (collectively the "Banks") and RFS Holdings are pleased to announce that, following the expiration of the subsequent offering period on 31 October 2007, a total of 1,826,332,482 ABN AMRO ordinary shares (including shares underlying 37,925,911 ABN AMRO ADSs) have been tendered or will be contributed by the Banks to RFS Holdings, representing approximately 98.8% of ABN AMRO ordinary shares.* During the subsequent offering period, 236,099,027 ABN AMRO ordinary shares (including shares underlying 2,693,888 ABN AMRO ADSs) were tendered to RFS Holdings, representing approximately 12.8% of ABN AMRO ordinary shares.
18/10/2007 Fortis EUR 10 billion revolving credit facility confirmed Fortis today announced that the EUR 10,000,000,000 revolving credit facility has
successfully closed on a club deal basis with Dresdner Bank AG, Niederlassung Luxemburg,
ING Bank Wholesale Banking, Mediobanca – Banca di Credito Finanziario S.p.A.,
Coöperative Centrale Raiffeisen Boerenleenbank B.A. and Société Générale Corporate and
Investment Banking. The Facility will be used towards financing part of the consideration
payable by RFS Holdings B.V. in connection with the offer for ABN AMRO.
16/10/2007 Fortis joint venture in Ireland opens new head office and branch, creating 50 new jobs Postbank – Fortis’s joint venture with An Post – has just opened its new head office in Dun Laoghaire in south Dublin. The move brings 50 jobs to the town. Postbank has also announced the opening of its latest branch in Dun Laoghaire Post Office. Jos Clijsters, CEO of Fortis Retail Banking and Donal Connell, Chief Executive of An Post, joined Margaret Sweeney, Chief Executive of Postbank for the inaugurations.
11/10/2007 Joint Message from ABN AMRO, Fortis, RBS and Santander Supervisory and Managing Board Nominations and Responsibilities
ABN AMRO, Fortis, RBS and Santander announce today the nominations for the new structure and membership of the Supervisory and Managing Boards of
ABN AMRO, together with their proposed responsibilities. These are subject to the completion of the appropriate approval process including an Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders called for by ABN AMRO at the earliest practical date as well as consultation with all relevant staff representative bodies.
The Supervisory Board will continue to be chaired by Mr Arthur Martinez. Nominated to join the Supervisory Board are Mr Jean-Paul Votron, Chief Executive of Fortis, Sir Fred Goodwin, Chief Executive of RBS, and Mr Juan Inciarte, General Manager of Santander. Mr David Baron de Rothschild,
Mr Marcus Pratini de Moraes, Mr Paulo Scaroni, Lord Sharman of Redlynch and Mr Gerhard Randa will be stepping down at the forthcoming EGM.
For the Managing Board our intention is to increase both its resources and capabilities while providing increased leadership focus for Business Units and functions. The structure details (attached) show how existing responsibilities will map onto the proposed structure. In the period ahead we will be working on the allocation of further responsibilities to the leadership team as appropriate.
As announced by ABN AMRO yesterday Mr Rijkman Groenink is stepping down from his position as Chairman of the Managing Board. The other existing members of the Managing Board will retain positions with revised responsibilities.
Mr Groenink’s nominated replacement as Chairman is Mr Mark Fisher, currently Chief Executive of the Manufacturing Division and a member of the RBS Group Board and Group Executive Management Committee.
11/10/2007 Fortis appoints two new international Executive Committee members Alain Deschênes – Chief Operating Officer, Camille Fohl – CEO Retail Banking
Karel De Boeck nominated as Vice Chairman to the Managing Board of ABN AMRO
Fortis has appointed Alain Deschênes and Camille Fohl members of the Executive Committee (ExCo), Fortis’s highest managing body, with effect from 1 January 2008. Alain Deschênes, who has been Fortis’s Chief Information Officer since February 2005, will become Chief Operating Officer (COO). Camille Fohl, CEO of Fortis Commercial Banking since 2005, will become CEO of Retail Banking. Karel de Boeck, current Chief Risk Officer, has been nominated as Vice Chairman to the Managing Board of ABN AMRO.
10/10/2007 10 October 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander Declare Offer for ABN AMRO Unconditional Further to their announcement of 8 October 2007, Fortis, RBS, Santander (collectively, the "Banks") and RFS Holdings have declared wholly unconditional the offer for ABN AMRO ordinary shares and ABN AMRO ADSs (the "Ordinary Shares Offer") and the offer for ABN AMRO Formerly Convertible Preference Shares (the "Preference Shares Offer", and, together with the Ordinary Shares Offer, the "Offers"). Settlement of the Offers will take place on 17 October 2007.
In accordance with normal practice in the Netherlands, the Banks will provide a Subsequent Offering Period to allow holders of ABN AMRO ordinary shares, ABN AMRO ADSs and ABN AMRO Formerly Convertible Preference Shares (together, "ABN AMRO Shareholders") who have not yet accepted the Offers to tender their ABN AMRO ordinary shares, ABN AMRO ADSs and ABN AMRO Formerly Convertible Preference Shares (together, "ABN AMRO Shares").
09/10/2007 Fortis named Best Employer in the Netherlands Fortis was named Best Employer in the Netherlands for 2007 in a survey by Intermediair among more than 120 firms. The Dutch weekly announced the winner on 9 October.
The Intermediair Best Employer Survey, conducted annually in the Netherlands, compares employment conditions, company culture and employee satisfaction.
Fortis stands out in a comparison of employment conditions in areas such as employer contributions to pension and life-course savings schemes and in several work-life balance schemes. Initiatives designed to encourage employees to do community volunteer work and to lead a healthier lifestyle also helped to lift Fortis to the top of the list.
The survey also revealed that the banking and insurance firm has the most satisfied employees of all financial institutions.
08/10/2007 8 October 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander Update on Acceptances of ABN AMRO Ordinary Shares Fortis, RBS, Santander (collectively the "Banks") and RFS Holdings announce, thus far, 1,590,339,614 ABN AMRO ordinary shares (including shares underlying 35,341,532 ABN AMRO ADSs) have been tendered under the Offer or will be contributed by the Banks to RFS Holdings. These represent approximately 86% of ABN AMRO ordinary shares.
04/10/2007 4 October 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander - Announcement concerning ABN AMRO Convertible Financing Preference Shares Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, the “Banks”) today announce that RFS Holdings B.V. will offer €0.59 in cash per Depository Receipt representing ABN AMRO Holding N.V. Convertible Financing Preference Shares.
The Banks announced in the Offer Memorandum of 20 July 2007 that RFS Holdings B.V. intended to make appropriate proposals to the holders of Depository Receipts issued for ABN AMRO Holding N.V. Convertible Financing Preference Shares in due course. RFS Holdings hereby announces an offer of €0.59 in cash to all holders of all such depository receipts (the “Depository Receipts Offer”), conditional upon RFS Holdings’s offer for all ABN AMRO ordinary shares and ADSs being declared unconditional.
The Depository Receipts Offer will expire at 3:00pm Amsterdam time (9:00am New York City time) on 30 October 2007, unless it is extended or withdrawn. Investors can obtain an information letter containing further details of the Depository Receipts Offer from the Banks’ joint website, www.consortiumbid.com.
03/10/2007 Fortis welcomes approval from European Commission Today Fortis received approval from the European Commission for the acquisition of ABN AMRO. As part of the approval, the Commission has imposed remedies on Fortis to address certain competition concerns in the Commercial Banking segment in the Netherlands.
The remedies imposed by the Commission consist of a post-acquisition divestment package relating to specified parts of the Business Unit Netherlands of ABN AMRO (the ‘Divestment’).
A key element of the Divestment is the proposed sale of Hollandsche Bank Unie N.V. (an independent, separately licensed commercial bank), 13 advisory branches and two Corporate Client Departments and the sale of the Dutch factoring company IFN Finance B.V.
The scope of the Divestment represents around 10% of the part of Business Unit Netherlands to be acquired by Fortis in terms of assets, income and initially projected revenue and cost synergies. The corresponding projected restructuring charges, however, remain unchanged compared to what was presented on 29 May. The remedies imposed will not have any material effect on the post-acquisition planned integration of Fortis and ABN AMRO.
Most of the text of the European Commission’s review will be available shortly on the website of the European Commission.
http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/mergers/news.html
02/10/2007 2 October 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander – U.S. Registration Statement declared effective In connection with the proposed acquisition by RFS Holdings of ABN AMRO and further to their announcement of 28 September 2007 regarding U.S. regulatory matters, Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, the “Banks”) announce that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has declared effective the Registration Statement on Form F-4 (the “Form F-4”) filed by RBS, which includes the U.S. offer document, thereby satisfying in part condition (h) of the offer. As a result, RBS will now also be permitted to issue its ordinary shares upon settlement of the offer to ABN AMRO shareholders and ADS holders in the U.S. in satisfaction of RFS Holdings’s obligations under the terms and conditions of the offer (as described in further detail in the U.S. offer document). Copies of the Form F-4, including the U.S. offer document, may be obtained free of charge from the SEC’s website, http://www.sec.gov.
The Banks believe this marks another significant step towards satisfaction of the conditions applicable to the offer and invite ABN AMRO shareholders to accept the Banks’ offer prior to its expiration on Friday, 5 October 2007 at 3:00 pm (Amsterdam time) / 9:00 am (New York City time).
27/09/2007 Fortis wins the first ever carbon auction in Brazil and acquires 808,000 carbon credits from the Sao Paulo government at Brazil auction Fortis, global leader in the fast growing carbon market, announces its successful participation in the Brazilian Certified Emission Reductions (CER) auction – the first to be held on a regulated stock market. This underlines Fortis’s commitment to support the functionality of the Kyoto Protocol framework, the market-based mechanism that has been implemented to address global warming by reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.
25/09/2007 25 September 2007 – Publication of Amendment to F-4 Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, the “Banks”) have today publicly filed an amendment to the Form F-4 with the SEC. The Form F-4 was first filed on 20 July 2007 in connection with the Banks’ offer for ABN AMRO. The amendments to the Form F-4 include the provision of further detail on developments that have been announced by the Banks in recent weeks, such as amendments in connection with the Dutch Minister of Finance’s consent and the status of the financing of the offer. The amendments also include an update of regulatory approvals.
Copies of the offer documents and of documents incorporated by reference in the offer documents may be obtained free of charge, subject to the same restrictions as apply to the offers, by contacting the Dutch exchange agent or the global information agent at the addresses and telephone numbers below.
The Dutch exchange agent:
Fortis Bank (Nederland) N.V.
Rokin 55
1012 KK Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 527 24 67 The global information agent:
D.F. King & Co., Inc.
2 London Wall Buildings, 2nd Floor
London Wall, London EC2M 5PP
United Kingdom
European Toll Free Help Line: 00 800 5464 5464
48 Wall Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10005
United States
North American Toll Free Help Line: 1 (800) 848 2998
21/09/2007 Jan-Michiel Hessels elected Vice-Chairman of Fortis Board of Directors The Fortis Board of Directors elected Jan-Michiel Hessels Vice-Chairman on Thursday 20 September. In this capacity, Jan-Michiel Hessels, currently a member of the Fortis Board, replaces Jan Slechte, who stepped down as a Board member on 23 May 2007.
21/09/2007 Fortis trading update: Click here for the pdf Fortis will be holding discussions with analysts and investors during the period of its rights issue. This statement sets out the results-specific information that may be covered during those discussions. Comments relate to the expected results for the nine-month period ending 30 September 2007, unless otherwise stated. They are based on management expectations using the most recent information available. The current quarter will only be closed as of 30 September, however, so actual results could differ from what is stated below.
17/09/2007 17 September 2007 - Fortis, RBS and Santander welcome Dutch Minister of Finance consent Today, the Dutch Minister of Finance, on the advice of De Nederlandsche Bank N.V. ("DNB"), has granted Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, “the Banks”) the Declarations of No Objection they require in respect of the proposed acquisition of ABN AMRO Holding N.V. and its group companies ("ABN AMRO"). This is an important step towards the completion of the Banks’ offer for ABN AMRO.
13/09/2007 Fortis confident it will get regulatory clearance from the European Commission within offer period In order to obtain clearance from the European Commission competition authorities for the acquisition of ABN AMRO, Fortis yesterday presented remedies, related to the market for small and medium-sized enterprises in the Netherlands.
Fortis expects to get EU clearance on 3 October at the latest. At this stage, no further details on the remedies will be given.
07/09/2007 Announcement Fortis, RBS and Santander - 7 September 2007 – Publication of Amendment to F-4 Following the filing by ABN AMRO of its Form 6-K on 31 August 2007, including a reconciliation of IFRS net profit and shareholders’ equity to US GAAP for the 6 months ended 30 June 2007, Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, the “Banks”) have today publicly filed an amendment to the Form F-4 with the SEC. The Form F-4 was first filed on 20 July 2007 in connection with the Banks’ offer for ABN AMRO. The amendments to the Form F-4 include the addition of pro forma combined US GAAP financial information for ABN AMRO and RBS as of and for the 6 months ended 30 June 2007.
05/09/2007 Fortis establishes international CSR Advisory Board Fortis is proud to announce it has established an international Advisory Board for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The Board, representing the academic world, NGOs, CSR research and business, will act as a sounding board and advisory body on CSR topics to Fortis’s Executive Committee and senior management.
04/09/2007 Announcement Fortis, RBS and Santander - 4 September 2007 - Publication of Amendment to F-4 Following the publication of interim results by ABN AMRO and RBS on 30 July 2007 and 3 August 2007 respectively and comments received from the SEC on the Registration Statement on Form F-4 filed on 23 July 2007, Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, the "Banks") have today publicly filed an amendment to the Form F-4 with the SEC.
Copies of the offer documents and of documents incorporated by reference in the offer documents may be obtained free of charge, subject to the same restrictions as apply to the offers, by contacting the Dutch exchange agent or the global information agent at the addresses and telephone numbers below.
21/08/2007 Belgium MiFID: A great leap forward for customer protection and transparency – Fortis ready for new EU rules Fortis announces today that it has taken all necessary steps to be compliant with the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), which will apply across Europe as from 1 November. The new rules aim to create an integrated financial market, increase transparency and give better protection to clients.
15/08/2007 15 August 2007 – Publication of Supplementary Documentation Following the publication of interim results by ABN AMRO and RBS on 30 July 2007 and 3 August 2007 respectively, Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, the “Banks”) are today publishing supplementary offer documentation, including the interim financial statements of RBS and ABN AMRO for the six months to 30 June 2007, which will be available from the Banks.
14/08/2007 14 August 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander Announcement Fortis, RBS and Santander (the "Banks") announce that their aggregate shareholding in ABN AMRO has been increased to 3.25% of voting rights through market purchases on Friday 10 August and Monday 13 August of a total of 40.76 million ABN AMRO ordinary shares at an average price of €33.81.
The Banks may make further purchases of ABN AMRO shares within the limits of qualifying interest criteria determined by regulators.
19/07/2007 Fortis signs Minority Partner Agreement with Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Fortis and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire (‘TMNF’) are pleased to announce the signing of a minority partner agreement, which sees the Japanese entity take a 5% stake in Fortis Investments - valued at EUR 80 million.
16/07/2007 16 July 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander Confirm Proposed Offer for ABN AMRO of €38.40 Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively “the Banks”) today confirm their intention to proceed with their proposed offer for ABN AMRO. The value offered per ABN AMRO Share remains unchanged at €38.40 and the cash component of the proposed offer is increased to approximately 93%.
13/07/2007 13 July 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander Announcement Following the ruling of the Supreme Court today regarding the sale of LaSalle by ABN AMRO to Bank of America, RBS, Fortis and Santander (collectively "the Banks") announce that they intend to proceed with a revised offer for ABN AMRO.
12/07/2007 ”La Caixa” acquires Fortis’s 50% stake in CaiFor Fortis and “la Caixa” announce that they have agreed that “la Caixa” will acquire all Fortis’s interests in the Spanish bancassurance joint venture, CaiFor, [i.e. 50% in CaiFor and 20% in SegurCaixa] for a total cash consideration of EUR 980 million, including 2007 interim dividend of EUR 30 million.
12/07/2007 Fortis reports progress on financing of proposed offer for ABN AMRO • New financial instrument successfully placed, valued at EUR 2 billion
• EUR 1.6 billion in asset sales, representing a capital relief of EUR 1.2 billion
• Rights issue reduced to an expected EUR 13 billion
11/07/2007 Fortis prices an offering of Conditional Capital Exchangeable Notes (“CCENs”) Fortis announces today that it has priced an offering (the “Offering”) of €2,000 million Conditional Capital Exchangeable Notes (“CCENs”). The CCENs will be issued by Fortis Bank nv-sa, Fortis Bank Nederland (Holding) N.V., Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V. as joint and several co-obligors (the “Issuers”). The CCENs represent senior unsecured obligations of the Issuers and will carry a coupon of 3 month EURIBOR + 15 bps payable quarterly in arrear.
09/07/2007 Daniel Thielemans appointed as CEO of Fortis Bank UK Fortis is delighted to announce Daniel Thielemans as the new CEO of Fortis Bank UK, replacing Angus MacLennan, who was recently appointed Global CEO of Corporate, Institutional and Public Banking.
09/07/2007 Fortis announces agencies short listed for advertising tender Fortis today announced that it has selected three advertising agencies to make a final pitch for managing its global communications budget. The three short listed agencies are Grey, Ogilvy and Leo Burnett.
05/07/2007 5 July 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander Announcement Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, the "Banks") were required under the Dutch offer rules to publish offer documentation during a 6 week period (referred to in article 9g(3) of the Dutch Decree on the Supervision of the Securities Trade 1995) which commenced on the announcement of the proposed offer on 29 May 2007 and expires on 10 July 2007. As stated in the Banks’ announcement of 29 May 2007, the Autoriteit Financiële Markten (“AFM”) had granted an extension of this period and the duration of this extension would be determined in the week of 2 July 2007. Taking into account that, whilst good progress is being made, the review processes by the relevant market regulators relating to the documentation of the proposed offer have not yet been completed, the AFM has now determined that the extension will expire on 23 July 2007. As indicated in their announcement of 22 June 2007, the Banks expect to publish offer documentation by mid-July.
03/07/2007 3 July 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander Announcement Santander has submitted its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2006 to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The filing includes the Consortium and Shareholders’ Agreement (the "CSA") entered into by Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, the “Banks”) on 28 May 2007. The filing will be available via the website of the SEC (www.sec.gov).
02/07/2007 Fortis receives positive opinion from Works Council in the Netherlands Fortis Bank Netherlands’ Works Council today issued a positive opinion – with the support of the other Fortis works councils in the Netherlands – on the first formal step in the ABN AMRO offer process.
22/06/2007 22 June 2007 – ABN AMRO Proposed Offer Update Fortis, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander (the "Banks”) are announcing today an update on their proposed Offer for ABN AMRO
18/06/2007 Fortis and Sinosure of China sign Comprehensive Business Cooperation Agreement Fortis Global Export & Project Finance (GEPF) is pleased to announce it has entered today into a Comprehensive Business Cooperation Agreement with Sinosure. The signing of today’s agreement confirms the intention of both parties to formalise their long-standing business cooperation. Fortis and Sinosure have agreed to extend cooperation to develop products together, to exchange market information and to actively promote each others businesses.
06/06/2007 6 June 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander Announcement Welcoming Monday’s statement from the UNI Confederation of Trade Unions, Mr Neil Roden, Group Director of Human Resources for RBS, confirmed that he would be contacting UNI on behalf of Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, the “Banks”) to seek a meeting.
05/06/2007 Fortis holds International Challenge and supports SOS Children’s Villages On Saturday 2 June 2007, Jos Clijsters, a member of the Fortis Executive Committee, presented a cheque for €270,970.77 to SOS Children’s Villages, the international charity for orphans and abandoned children. The presentation took place at the Fortis Challenge – a special weekend for Fortis employees from all over the world.
25/05/2007 25 May 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander Announcement In view of the forthcoming bank holidays on Monday 28 May in the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK, Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, the "Banks") intend to make an announcement on Tuesday 29 May rather than Sunday 27 May as previously indicated clarifying whether or not, and if so under what circumstances, the Banks will make an offer for ABN AMRO.
25/05/2007 Fortis finalises the acquisition of a majority stake in Pacific Century Insurance in Hong Kong Following the announcement made on 1 March 2007, Fortis is pleased to announce that it has finalised the acquisition of 50.45% of Pacific Century Insurance from its majority shareholder, PCI Regional Developments Ltd, and others for a total consideration of HKD 3.5 billion (EUR 341 million).
23/05/2007 Decisions taken by the General Meetings of Shareholders of 23 May 2007 The Annual General Meetings of Shareholders of Fortis S.A./N.V. and Fortis N.V. have approved all proposals put forward by the Board of Directors (including the proposals for dividend and the election and re-election of members of the Board of Directors).
14/05/2007 14 May 2007 – Fortis, RBS and Santander Announcement Following recent speculation, Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, the “Banks”) wish to clarify certain aspects of the Acquisition Proposal for LaSalle submitted by the Banks to ABN AMRO on 5 May 2007. The Banks are disclosing a number of private documents following close consultation with the Autoriteit Financiële Markten (“AFM”).
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