Pro Carrere
A new future for Fortis

Euroshareholders, a pan-European investors organization representing 15,000 injured Fortis investors, welcomed the outcome of the Fortis shareholders' meeting held today at noon. Despite attempts by the management of Fortis and the Belgian government to influence the vote, a (narrow) majority of shareholders (50.26 percent) voted against the transactions of 3, 5, and 6 October 2008. These transactions, which had been under great pressure, meant an almost complete dismantling of the bancassurer and have led to an unprecedented loss of value for shareholders. 

Euroshareholders is very critical of the means taken to influence the vote today; namely the threat of bankruptcy, the active attempts to approach and influence the shareholders by the Fortis Board, the talks with Ping An, and the last-minute to try and trick the 125 million shares (cashes)  to vote. It is gratifying that undesirable interference in the decision-making process has not influenced the outcome. 
After the vote, a reasonable possibility of restoring Fortis as a financial group exists, in which it is not denied that there are significant problems for steering the Fortis ship back to safe waters. Euroshareholders trusts that the Belgian state government will be constructive in establishing this. 

It is therefore positive that a new administration will lead the company, with directors who enjoy the confidence of the shareholders. Those include Mr Jozef De Mey, Georges Ugeux Zegering and Jan Hadders. They will together with Karel De Boeck, on December 2, 2008 was appointed the new CEO of Fortis, form the new board. Euroshareholders hopes that Fortis will be revived as a financial group, and that the new administration will be able to create long-term value for the hard-hit shareholders of Fortis.