PARIS (Standard&Poor's) July 19, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on Fortis Bank (AA-/Stable/A-1+), Fortis SA/NV (A+/Stable/A-1), and Fortis N.V. (A+/Stable/A-1) remain unchanged following today's announcement that the Belgo-Dutch Fortis group will acquire a 50% stake in the bancassurance activities of Banco Commercial Portuges, S.A. (A-/Stable/A-2) for a total consideration of €500 million in cash. The Fortis group will finance the acquisition with proceeds from the recent IPO of its U.S. insurance activities. Standard&Poor's believes that the acquisition is consistent with the group's strategy of leveraging its bancassurance skills in selected countries outside Benelux and does not significantly affect the group's risk profile or its capital strength. ANALYST E-MAIL ADDRESSES
