Fortis Group

Fortis N.V./S.A., was a Benelux-centered global financial services group active in insurance, banking and investment management, initially formed in 1990 by a three-way Belgian-Dutch merger and headquartered in Brussels. It grew rapidly through multiple acquisitions, and in 2007 was the 20th largest financial services business in the world by revenue. It was listed on the Euronext Brussels, Euronext Amsterdam, and Luxembourg stock exchanges.

Fortis encountered severe problems in the 2008 financial crisis, not least as a consequence of participating in 2007 in the joint acquisition of ABN AMRO together with Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Banco Santander. It received an emergency bailout from the governments of Belgium and the Netherlands and was broken up soon thereafter. As a consequence:

As of 2022, the Fortis brand name is still used by BNP Paribas in Belgium, but its colorful logo was discontinued in 2009 shortly after the acquisition.

Fortis came into being in 1990, as the result of a merger of insurer AMEV (for Algemeene Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Verzekeringsmaatschappijen, formerly Levensverzekering-maatschappij Utrecht [nl] known as "De Utrecht") and VSB Groep [nl], both based in Utrecht; the combined entity, named "AMEV/VSB 1990", was joined in December 1990 year by AG Insurance, a Belgian insurer, and the resulting group was branded Fortis, establishing a landmark precedent for cross-border mergers in the European financial services sector.

In 1993, Fortis acquired a majority stake in ASLK / CGER, a major Belgian bank, and took full ownership in 1999; meanwhile ASLK / CGER in 1995 acquired Société Nationale de Crédit à l'Industrie (Nationale Maatschappij voor Krediet aan de Nijverheid, SNCI/NMKN), another significant Belgian bank. In March 1997 Fortis acquired MeesPierson from ABN AMRO, thus establishing its presence in investment banking. In June 1998, Fortis acquired Generale Bank (GB) after winning a fierce takeover battle against ABN AMRO. In March 2000, the branches of VSB Bank, ASLK / CGER and GB were all rebranded as Fortis Bank.

In 2000 Fortis acquired Dutch insurer ASR Nederland, itself formed from a recent merger involving the storied Stad Rotterdam Verzekeringen, which made it the second-largest insurer in the Netherlands and the largest overall in the Benelux. In November 2002, it purchased most of the Dutch corporate banking activities of KBC Group. In August 2003, it sold Theodoor Gilissen Bankiers, a former subsidiary of MeesPierson, to KBC.

In April 2005, Fortis started expanding farther abroad by acquiring the Turkish bank Dışbank [tr] from Doğan Holding, whose branches it also rebranded Fortis. In the UK it acquired Dryden Wealth Management from Prudential Financial on 4 October 2005, but sold insurance activities in the United States from 2000 onward. As of 2006, the company's profits were €4.56 billion, according to Forbes magazine with a market value of €45.74 billion.^{[citation needed]}

In early 2005, Fortis put Banque Belgolaise, its sub-saharan Africa subsidiary, up for sale. Failing to find a suitable buyer, Fortis ceased all operations after October 23, 2006. In October 2006, it signed a joint venture with An Post (Irish postal service) to provide financial services through the An Post network of offices. In October 2006, Fortis acquired 100% of Polish retail bank Dominet, which had 806 employees and over 125 branches and franchises. It further expanded into Asia in 2007 by acquiring Pacific Century Insurance Holdings, later Fortis Insurance Asia.