Fortis Bank appoints Paul Peeters as Country Manager for Spain

Paul Peeters (53) holds a Master of Applied Economics degree from the Sint Ignatius University Faculty of Antwerp and a Certificate in Accountancy and Tax Law from the State University of Ghent.  He also completed the General Management course at CEDEP Fontainebleau.

 

After eight years with consulting firm Arthur Andersen & Co, Paul Peeters joined Generale Bank (now Fortis Bank) in 1983, and has worked mainly in the dynamic Antwerp region, as Group Manager - Antwerp City, as Manager for Amro-Bank Belgium, where he was responsible for the integration of Amro Bank into Generale Bank, as Retail Manager in various Antwerp areas, and more recently as Area Manager Region Antwerp, in charge of four Business Centres.

 

As from 1 April 2005 Paul Peeters will be responsible for coordinating and developing  Fortis Bank Spain's banking activities, i.e. Commercial Banking, which operates five Business Centres, Private Banking through Beta Capital MeesPierson, and Merchant Banking, which is active in Global Markets, Investment Banking, Corporate Banking, Private Equity, Global Export and Project Finance. Fortis Bank employs 300 people in Spain.

 

Fortis Bank is active in Private Banking, Commercial Banking and Merchant Banking. Private Banking is represented by Beta Capital MeesPierson (BCMP), with branches in 9 cities and assets under management of EUR 2.8 billion. In 2004, BCMP was rated one of the top ten performers in the Spanish private banking market in terms of portfolio and funds returns. Commercial Banking operates five Business Centres across the country, dedicated to medium-sized enterprises. The total value of assets today stands at EUR 1.5 billion.  Merchant Banking is present  in Global Markets, Investment Banking, Corporate Banking and Private Equity.

In the Spanish insurance sector, Fortis occupies the leading position in Life insurance and Health Benefits through CAIFOR, its joint venture with La Caixa. It reinforced this position when it acquired the portfolios of Swiss Life and SCH Pensiones in 2003.

 

Fortis is an integrated financial services provider active in the fields of banking and insurance. With a market capitalization of EUR 27,7 billion (28/02/2005) and around 52,000 employees, Fortis ranks in the top 20 of European financial institutions. In its home market, the Benelux countries, Fortis occupies a leading position which it aims to develop and bolster. Fortis is drawing on the expertise it has acquired in its home market to realize its European ambitions via growth platforms. Fortis also operates successfully worldwide in selected activities. In specific countries in Europe and Asia it effectively exploits its know-how and experience in bancassurance. 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