Decisions taken by the General Meetings of Shareholders of 25 May 2005

Dividend

 

The meeting declared a gross dividend of EUR 1.04 per Fortis Share for the financial year 2004.  The dividend will be paid from 16 June 2005.

 

The Fortis share represents one share in each of the two parent companies, Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V.   Shareholders can opt to receive dividend from Fortis SA/NV, thus from the Belgian source, or from Fortis N.V., the Dutch source. They need to make their preference known during the dividend election period.

 

The schedule is as follows:

 

27 May 2005            Ex-dividend quotation

27 May 2005             Opening date for giving instructions on dividend source

10 June 2005     Closing date for giving instructions on dividend source (before market closes)

16 June 2005             Dividend released for payment

 

Net dividend paid out by Fortis N.V. in the Netherlands will amount to EUR 0.78 per Fortis Share, being gross dividend less Dutch dividend withholding tax of 25% in principle.

 

Net dividend paid out by Fortis SA/NV in Belgium will amount to EUR 0.78 per Fortis Share, being gross dividend less Belgian withholding tax of 25% in principle. Any shares accompanied by coupon no. 34 from the VVPR strip will be subject to Belgian withholding tax of only 15%, so net dividend of EUR 0.884 per share will be paid on those shares.

 

Count Maurice Lippens has been re-elected non-executive director for a period of three years, namely until the end of the Annual General Meeting of 2008. Mr Lippens is chairing the Board of Directors and the Nomination & Remuneration Committee.

 

Baron Daniel Janssen has been re-elected non-executive director for a period of one year, namely until the end of the Annual General Meeting of 2006. Mr Janssen is a member of the Nomination & Remuneration Committee.

 

The Annual General Meeting held in Brussels appointed CEO Jean-Paul Votron as executive director of Fortis for a period of three years, namely until the end of the Annual General Meeting of 2008. Mr Votron was co-opted by the Board of Directors on 6 October 2004, with effect from 11 October 2004. In accordance with Dutch legislation, this appointment was approved by the Extraordinary Meeting of Shareholders held in Utrecht on 11 October 2004.

 

 

Fortis is an integrated financial services provider engaged in banking and insurance. With a market capitalisation of EUR 27.9 billion (29/04/2005) and around 51,000 employees, Fortis ranks among Europe's top 20 financial institutions. In its home market, the Benelux countries, Fortis occupies a leading position and offers a broad range of financial services to individuals, companies and the public sector. Outside its home market, Fortis concentrates on selected market segments. Fortis is listed on the exchanges of Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg and has a sponsored ADR programme in the United States. More information is available on www.fortis.com.