Key moments in the Fortis crises

17/10/2007: Fortis purchases ABN Ambro. This is the beginning of the end. The financing of this deal put the shares under a lot of pressure.
26/06/2008: Fortis announces unexpectedly that a capital increase of 1.5 billion euro is necessary and that they will have to cancel the interim-dividend. The shares lose 19%.
11/07/2008: CEO Jean-Paul Vorton resigns and Herman Verwilst takes his place.
01/08/2008: Financial director Gilbert Mittles also resigns, he is appointed ‘special adviser of the CEO’.
15/09/2008: The American Bank Lehman Brothers goes bankrupt. Because of this the Interbanking Market stops working and the rate for liquidities skyrocket.
26/09/2008: At a press conference Fortis states that there are no liquidity or solvability problems. That same night Verwilst is replaced by Filip Dierckx. It seems that the financial crises was dramatically. A lot of clients take away their money, a total of 20 million euro.
28/09/2008: The governments of Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands decide to invest 11.2 billion euro in Fortis. Fortis has to sell its holding in ABN Ambro. Maurice Lippens resigns as president of the Board of Directors.
03/10/2008: The Belgium government announces that they will sell Fortis Netherlands and ABN Ambro to the government of the Netherlands for 16.8 billion euro.
06/10/2008: The Belgium government sells 75% of Fortis Bank and Fortis Insurance Belgium to BNP Paribas.

Source: De Standaard

Tine Van Landeghem