Fortis announces the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer

15 juni 2009 Bart De Smet to lead the company to a new era as an international insurance company The Board of Fortis today announces the decision to appoint Bart De Smet as Chief Executive. This appointment is subject to the approval of the Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission (CBFA). Bart De Smet will take over from Karel De Boeck with effect from July 1st, 2009. Karel De Boeck, Fortis CEO from December 2008, will leave the Group and resign from the Board. Jozef De Mey, Fortis Chairman said: "By appointing Bart De Smet, a seasoned executive who has spent his entire career within the insurance industry, we ensure that we have the right management in place to develop our position as an international insurance group. The Board's unanimous decision, made upon recommendation of the Governance Committee reflects the need to define the new strategy and to streamline the company's management as we embark on a new era in the Group's history transforming Fortis from a financial holding into a focused insurance group". Fortis will take the necessary steps with regard to the appointment of Bart De Smet as Director of Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V. The Board expressed its appreciation for Karel De Boeck's service as Group CEO. "Karel played a critical role in steering Fortis through an extremely difficult period," said De Mey. "He took over as CEO when the future of the Company was most uncertain and he successfully negotiated the restructuring of the Group and guided it through a complex shareholders' approval process. The Board is grateful for the great work he has done, leaving to his successor a strong insurance group with encouraging prospects for future growth." Karel De Boeck commented: "I was very honoured to lead Fortis in its most difficult hours, but now my restructuring task has been successfully accomplished. I welcome the appointment of Bart De Smet, a very experienced insurance man as new CEO. I would like to thank all employees at Fortis for working so hard in the times of crisis." Fortis also announces that Peer van Harten, who had already decided in March to step down but stayed on at the request of the Board to support the transfer process, will hand over his responsibilities. Jozef De Mey commented: "Since the transformation of Fortis in October 2008 Peer has continued to work with total commitment. He deserves credit for the positive financial results achieved by the insurance activities in 2008 and in the first quarter of 2009 despite the most difficult market conditions. The Board thanks him for his steady management of the insurance operations during his tenure as CEO of the insurance activities of Fortis". Bart De Smet will become CEO of Fortis and will temporarily also remain CEO of Fortis Insurance Belgium (FIB), the latter being renamed AG Insurance as from June 22nd 2009. Bart De Smet is 51 years old and has for the past 2.5 years been CEO of FIB which has an annual gross inflow of more than 6.3 billion euros representing 54% of the group's consolidated inflow. As such, it is the largest operating company of the Group. Going forward, direct lines of command between the CEO and the Group's major operating companies and regional management will be established. In order to allow Bart De Smet to concentrate his energies on managing the insurance business and developing strategies for future growth, two internal task forces will be created to deal with the legacy issues of the old Fortis. One task force will be covering financial aspects, the other task force will cover legal aspects. Both task forces will involve members of the Board and will report directly to the Board. Their work will be co-ordinated by Jozef De Mey, Chairman of the Group. Fortis holding (Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V.) consists of (1) a 75% ownership of Fortis Insurance Belgium (2) Fortis Insurance International, (3) a 45% stake in Royal Park Investments - a structured credit portfolio entity - and (4) financial assets and liabilities of various financing vehicles. Fortis Insurance Belgium is overall market leader and a leading player in the Employee Benefits market. The international insurance activities (Fortis Insurance International) are located in the UK, where Fortis is the third largest player in the market for private car insurance, France, Hong Kong, Luxembourg (Non-Life), Germany, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and joint ventures in Luxembourg (Life), Portugal, with Millenniumbcp Fortis being a clear market leader, China, Malaysia, India and Thailand. Fortis currently employs over 10,000 people. Press Contacts: Brussels: +32 (0)2 228 82 92 Utrecht: +31 (0)30 226 32 61 Investor Relations: Brussels: +32 (0)2 565 53 78 Utrecht: +31 (0)30 226 65 66 This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.