Fortis implements organisational changes to support the evolution of its growth strategy

 | Source: Ageas Ageas

Three customer centric businesses and better resource alignment to maximise value
 
The Fortis Board of Directors yesterday approved a modified organisation. The six current business lines have been integrated into three core businesses: Retail Banking;  Merchant, Corporate and Private (MCP) Banking (combining Merchant Banking and Commercial & Private Banking); and Insurance (combining Insurance Belgium, Insurance Netherlands and Insurance International). In addition to Group Resources, Finance and Strategy, new Executive Committee functions have been created for Risk and for Investments.
 
'Our strategy is yielding strong results and we want to build upon what is a successful strategy. This new organisation is another step in unlocking the potential of Fortis,' explains Fortis CEO Jean-Paul Votron, who announced in August that, within the current strategy, business plans and long-term financial targets would be updated by March 2007. 'The  Executive Committee has done a really tremendous job over the last two years and, given the strong expertise within the current team, we feel that we can do even better . This is the team that will be responsible for defining our new business initiatives and long-term financial targets.'
 
'It will help us to improve our service offering even more', continues Jean-Paul Votron. 'The increased focus on three customer-centric businesses will allow us to better leverage our core competences, to align resources and to extract cross-border synergies. In Merchant, Corporate and Private Banking, for instance, we will continue our dedicated service offering to those selected client segments in which we have built a strong competitive position, such as internationally active mid-sized corporates, High Net Worth Individuals and specific industry sectors such as Energy, Commodities and Transportation. By combining the two businesses, our Commercial Banking customers can benefit from our product sophistication in Merchant Banking, and thanks to a unified IT platform, all Merchant, Corporate and Private Banking customers will have access to our global distribution network. In Insurance, now that the local integration phases are sufficiently advanced, we will work on extracting cross-border efficiencies and establishing cross-border competences.
 
To strengthen further the operational model and to maximise the benefits of being an integrated financial services provider, the Executive Committee will put an increased emphasis on the Investment and Risk functions.  Jean-Paul Votron: 'Both are core activities for a financial services provider and I am convinced we can improve the return on assets for Fortis as a whole, while at the same time limiting our earnings volatility by optimally managing our risks.'
 
The Board of Directors has also decided to propose, at the next General Shareholders Meeting, the appointment of Herman Verwilst, Deputy CEO, as an Executive member of the Fortis Board.
 
 
 
 
 
The new structure, led by Fortis CEO Jean-Paul Votron, is organised as follows:
Businesses:
 
Retail Banking: Jos Clijsters. This business line is unchanged and includes the Retail Banking (individuals, professionals and small enterprises) activities in Belgium, Netherlands, Turkey, Luxembourg, France, Poland, Ireland and Germany, and the further rollout of the Consumer Finance Business.
 
Merchant, Corporate and Private Banking: Filip Dierckx. This business line brings together Merchant Banking and Commercial & Private Banking.  It includes the banking activities for large international companies and institutions, for medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs, and for private banking clients.
 
Insurance: Peer van Harten. This business line encompasses all activities of Insurance Belgium, Insurance Netherlands and Insurance International (UK, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Thailand, Malaysia, China and India).
 
Support functions:
 
Group Resources: Herman Verwilst (Deputy CEO). This function includes IST & Operations, Human Resources, Facilities and Purchasing.
 
Finance: Gilbert Mittler. This function includes Performance Management, Consolidation & Accounting, Group Development & Acquisitions, Tax and Reporting, Ratings, Structuring & Capital Management.
 
Strategy: Lex Kloosterman. This function includes Strategy, Investor Relations, Global Branding & Communications, Public Affairs, CSR and Fortis Investments.
 
Risk: Karel De Boeck: This function includes Risk, Legal, Compliance, Investigations and Customer & Management Processes. A key objective is to enhance risk strategies and further develop the risk function across Fortis. It will also drive the businesses and support functions to improve quality of processes.
 
Investment: Jozef De Mey: This function includes Asset & Liability Management (ALM). It will enhance Fortis-wide synergies in this area and will optimise return on assets.
 
The implementation of this organisation starts today and, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, will be fully operational as of  1 January 2007. Subsequently, Jozef De Mey will be succeeded as CEO of Fortis Insurance Belgium, by Bart De Smet, currently heading Insurance Belgium's Broker Channel. Bart will report to Peer van Harten, Executive Committee member for Insurance. Fortis will start to report according to the new organisational structure as of the first quarter of 2007.
 
 
Fortis is an international financial services provider engaged in banking and insurance. We offer our personal, business and institutional customers a comprehensive package of products and services through our own channels, in collaboration with intermediaries and through other distribution partners.
With a market capitalisation of EUR 41.6 billion (30/09/2006), Fortis ranks among the twenty largest financial institutions in Europe. Our sound solvency position, our presence in 50 countries and our dedicated, professional workforce of 58,000 enable us to combine global strength with local flexibility and provide our clients with optimum support. More information is available on www.fortis.com
 
 

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