"Business as usual" for UK insurance arm.
Fortis, the bank and insurer, became the latest victim of the credit crunch this weekend, prompting the governments of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands to invest a total EUR 11.2 billion in the respective Fortis bank institutions in each country.
A spokesman for Fortis UK said it was "business as usual" for the UK insurance arm. "The vaility of our policies will not be impacted in any way," the spokesman added. Fortis UK is a separate legal entity.
In an extraordinary weekend that saw the UK government step into to rescue former building society Bradford & Bingley and the US government reach a tentative agreement on the structure of a $700bn bailout for financial institutions, Fortis announced that it would sell its interest in ABN AMRO. Chairman Maurice Lippens resigned from the Fortis Board of Directors.
Fortis chief executive elect Filip Dierckx. “The actions taken by the Belgian, Luxembourg and Dutch governments are a sign of confidence in Fortis and of comfort to customers and all other stakeholders alike. These actions ensure the financial strength and stability of our company going forward.”
