BNP Paribas Fortis
Encyclopedia
BNP Paribas Fortis is the commercial name of Fortis Bank S.A./N.V., an international bank with its focus in Belgium
since the purchase of 75% of the shares of the bank by BNP Paribas
. It was formerly, together with Fortis Bank Nederland
, the banking arm of Fortis
. The conjunction of the ABN-AMRO takeover, the subprime crisis
and management mistakes led to the sale of the Dutch and Luxembourg parts of the banking branch of Fortis
to the Dutch and Luxembourg governments. Fortis Bank itself was first partly bought by the Belgian government (for € 4.7 billion), then fully purchased by the government and sold to BNP Paribas
.
A court decision had adjudged, on December 12, 2008, the ownership to be the result of an illegitimate action; the sale was made contingent on shareholder approval. The February 11, 2009, meeting of shareholders declined to approve the sale, but after some changes were made to the deal further to a renegotiation with BNP Paribas, the sale was approved by the general meetings of April 28 (Ghent
) and 29 (Utrecht
), and finalised on May 12.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
since the purchase of 75% of the shares of the bank by BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas S.A. is a global banking group, headquartered in Paris, with its second global headquarters in London. In October 2010 BNP Paribas was ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as the largest bank and largest company in the world by assets with over $3.1 trillion. It was formed through the merger...
. It was formerly, together with Fortis Bank Nederland
Fortis Bank Nederland
Fortis Bank Nederland was a bank in the Netherlands until 2010.The holding came into being within Fortis Bank, as a holding for those Dutch banks taken over by Fortis...
, the banking arm of Fortis
Fortis (finance)
Fortis N.V./S.A. was a company active in insurance, banking and investment management. In 2007 it was the 20th largest business in the world by revenue but after encountering severe problems in the financial crisis of 2008, most of the company was sold in parts, with only insurance activities...
. The conjunction of the ABN-AMRO takeover, the subprime crisis
Subprime mortgage crisis
The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis was one of the first indicators of the late-2000s financial crisis, characterized by a rise in subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, and the resulting decline of securities backed by said mortgages....
and management mistakes led to the sale of the Dutch and Luxembourg parts of the banking branch of Fortis
Fortis (finance)
Fortis N.V./S.A. was a company active in insurance, banking and investment management. In 2007 it was the 20th largest business in the world by revenue but after encountering severe problems in the financial crisis of 2008, most of the company was sold in parts, with only insurance activities...
to the Dutch and Luxembourg governments. Fortis Bank itself was first partly bought by the Belgian government (for € 4.7 billion), then fully purchased by the government and sold to BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas S.A. is a global banking group, headquartered in Paris, with its second global headquarters in London. In October 2010 BNP Paribas was ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as the largest bank and largest company in the world by assets with over $3.1 trillion. It was formed through the merger...
.
A court decision had adjudged, on December 12, 2008, the ownership to be the result of an illegitimate action; the sale was made contingent on shareholder approval. The February 11, 2009, meeting of shareholders declined to approve the sale, but after some changes were made to the deal further to a renegotiation with BNP Paribas, the sale was approved by the general meetings of April 28 (Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
) and 29 (Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
), and finalised on May 12.
Subsidiaries
- Fortis Investments - Asset Management
- Fortis Lease Group
- Fortis Bank Poland
- Dominet Bank
- Fortis Bank Turkey
- BGL SA