Fortis Group

Fortis N.V./S.A. (Belgium)
Fortis N.V. (Netherlands)
Company typeNaamloze vennootschap / Société anonyme
IndustryFinancial services
Founded1990
Defunct2010
FateNon-insurance activities sold, remaining operations renamed Ageas
SuccessorBNP Paribas Fortis (Belgian banking); Fortis Bank Nederland (Dutch banking); Ageas (insurance); ASR Nederland (Dutch insurance)
HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium; Utrecht, Netherlands
ProductsRetail, commercial, private and investment banking, insurance, asset management

Fortis, formally Fortis N.V./S.A., was a Benelux-centered global financial services group active in insurance, banking and investment management, initially formed in 1990 by a three-way Belgian-Dutch merger and headquartered in Brussels. It grew rapidly through multiple acquisitions, and in 2007 was the 20th largest financial services business in the world by revenue.[1] It was listed on the Euronext Brussels, Euronext Amsterdam, and Luxembourg stock exchanges.

Fortis encountered severe problems in the financial crisis of 2008, not least as a consequence of participating in 2007 in the joint acquisition of ABN AMRO together with Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Banco Santander. It received an emergency bailout from the governments of Belgium and the Netherlands and was broken up soon thereafter. As a consequence:

As of 2022, the Fortis brand name is still used by BNP Paribas in Belgium, but its colorful logo was discontinued in 2009 shortly after the acquisition.

  1. ^ "Fortune Global 500 2007: Fortis". CNN Money. 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  2. ^ a b Blenkinsop, Philip (10 March 2010). "Fortis returns to profit in 2009, unveils new name". Reuters. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  3. ^ "insurer Fortis Insurance continued as ASR". www.zibb.nl. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25.