PARIS (Standard&Poor's) May 27, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that the announcement by the Belgo-Dutch financial group Fortis that it posted a €453 million loss in the first quarter of 2003 stemming from €1.2 billion in equity portfolio write-downs will not affect the ratings on Fortis Bank (AA-/Negative/A-1+), Fortis SA/NV (A+/Negative/A-1), and Fortis N.V. (A+/Negative/A-1). In the three months ending March 31, 2003, net operating profit excluding unrealized capital losses declined by a moderate 8%, with lower banking revenues and higher loan-loss provisions being partly offset by better insurance performance. Since mid-2002, when the market value of Fortis' equity portfolio fell below its purchase price, changes in market value have gone through the profit and loss
