Fortis Posts Weak Second-Quarter Results Due To Market Turmoil, ABN AMRO; Ratings Unchanged

PARIS (Standard&Poor's) Aug. 4, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlooks on Fortis group entities, in particular Fortis Bank SA/NV (A+/Stable/A-1), were unchanged following the Belgo-Dutch financial group's announcement of its second-quarter results. The group posted €830 million in aftertax net profit, up 3% from the first quarter. The first-half result was down 41% from the same period last year, driven by substantial negative impacts from the credit market turmoil and acquisitions from ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (AA-/Developing/A-1+). These results are broadly in line with our expectations and illustrate our view that the financial profile we expect Fortis to maintain over 2008-2009 is not consistent with an 'AA' category rating. When we exclude

...PARIS (Standard & Poor's) Aug. 4, 2008--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlooks on Fortis group entities, in particular Fortis Bank SA/NV (A+/Stable/A-1), were unchanged following the Belgo-Dutch financial group's announcement of its second-quarter results. The group posted 830 million in aftertax net profit, up 3% from the first quarter. The first-half result was down 41% from the same period last year, driven by substantial negative impacts from the credit market turmoil and acquisitions from ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (##-/Developing/A-1+). These results are broadly in line with our expectations and illustrate our view that the financial profile we expect Fortis to maintain over 2008-2009 is not consistent with an '##' category rating. When we exclude the 141 million cumulative negative impact of the ABN AMRO purchases, 540 billion in write-downs on collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and the structured credit portfolio, and 183 million in positive revaluations...

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