DUTCH GOVERNMENT NATIONALISES FORTIS

The Dutch government is taking over the Dutch activities of Fortis bank, at a cost of 16.8 billion Euros. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced the takeover at a press conference on Friday afternoon, alongside Finance Minister Wouter Bos and Central Bank President Nout Wellink.

The move is meant to reassure investors in the troubled banking group. It comes just one week after the Dutch government said it would buy 49 percent of the Fortis activities in the Netherlands, part of a deal agreed with the governments of Belgium and Luxembourg. The new arrangement supersedes last week's deal.

Fortis has been victim to the international credit crisis. It could no longer raise the money needed to pay for its purchase of the ABN AMRO bank, a deal reached eighteen months ago and also involving Royal Bank of Scotland and Banco Santander. The Fortis share in that deal has now been brought into question. read more (radionetherlands.nl)

DUTCH NATIONALISE FORTIS & ABN AMRO read more (nrc.nl)
A TRULY EUROPEAN BANKING APPROACH? read more (radionetherlands.nl)
RECESSION OR DEPRESSION? read more (radionetherlands.nl)
FRENCH BACK DUTCH PLAN FOR RESCUE FUND read more (dutchnews.nl)EX FORTIS CHIEF COULD GET 5 MILLION EURO PAYOUT read more (nrc.nl)CRISIS HIGHLIGHTS BRUSSELS IS POWERLESS read more (nrc.nl)
CRISIS IS AS FAR-REACHING AS FALL SOVIET UNION read more (nrc.nl)'
US IS WORKING ON THE WRONG SOLUTION' read more (nrc.nl)

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October 6, 2008