On July 17, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered to 'A+/A-1' from 'AA-/A-1+' its long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on the core operational entities and a number of subsidiaries of the Fortis group. Standard&Poor's also lowered to 'A' from 'A+' the long-term counterparty credit ratings on Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V., the group's two holding companies. All the above-mentioned ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with negative implications on June 26, 2008. Standard&Poor's affirmed the 'A-1' short-term counterparty credit rating on the holding companies. The outlooks on all the above-mentioned entities are stable. The rating action reflects our opinion that the Fortis group will maintain over 2008-2009 a financial profile
