For information : letter of Filip Dierckx to Fortis staff
Dear Colleagues,
As you all know, we took a series of measures last week with the
governments of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg due to a strongly
deteriorating market situation. Part of this was the decision to
sell our shares in ABN AMRO.
This forced us to carefully look at our positioning in the Dutch
market. Based on this review, we decided to sell the activities of
Fortis Bank Nederland, ABN AMRO and Fortis Verzekeringen Nederland to
the Dutch government. The decision taken today in best interest of
our clients and staff is a second step towards a structured solution
for Fortis.
The sale will bring an amount of 16,8 Billion euro which will
strongly reinforce our financial position and allow us further
strengthen the balance sheet and liquidity of Fortis.
We thank our clients for their patience and confidence, and the
authorities for their continued support. We are convinced that the
measures taken will provide the necessary stability for Fortis
We are aware that the last months, weeks and days have been extremely
difficult for you.
During the last 18 months, many of you have made tremendous efforts
to reassure our clients and provide them with the professional
service they expect and deserve. For this we thank you most
sincerely.
As a consequence of this transaction, we unfortunately have to say
goodbye to our Dutch colleagues of Fortis Bank, of Fortis
Verzekeringen and ABN AMRO. Many of us have built a strong
relationship over the years and we would like to express our deep
thanks to them and wish them the best for the future.
More information will be provided as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Filip Dierckx
On Behalf of the Fortis Executive Committee
