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’Madoff to Holland: that’s €51-€60 each please
The Madoff loss by the nationalised Dutch arm of Fortis could be €850m-€1n, Fortis Bank Nederland said yesterday.
The bank had been lending to funds which invested with Madoff, the bank said in a statement.
Madoff fallout spreads worldwide
The fallout from Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50bn fraud spread on Monday as more banks revealed exposures to his firm and hedge funds braced for withdrawals from anxious clients. Potential losses among
Fortis shareholders reject chairman
Fortis shareholders rejected the appointment of a new chairman on Tuesday during a stormy meeting, at which they lined up to harangue the board of the Belgian-Dutch financial group after its partial nationalisation.
Fortis restructured
…off a cliff.
Trading in the eviscerated bank was resumed briefly this morning. The share price promptly fell 60 per cent.
Fortis, like many financial institutions, has been confronted with a systemic financial crisis of ever-growing,
BNP takes control of Fortis in €14.5bn deal
BNP Paribas is set to become the eurozone’s biggest bank in terms of size of deposits after taking over Fortis operations in Belgium and Luxembourg for €14.5bn ($19.6bn) in cash and shares. The deal was brokered by the Belgian government following the Netherlands’ surprise nationalisation last Friday of the group’s Dutch businesses.
CDS update: Equities wake up to credit’s reality
This CDS report was written by Markit’s Gavan Nolan
It’s a rare trading session when the FTSE 100 moves by more in percentage terms than the Markit iTraxx Europe index. But that’s what happened today.
BNP to take control of Fortis
BNP Paribas, the French bank, will take control of the remaining assets of Fortis after the Belgian government was forced to find a buyer following the shock Dutch nationalisation on Friday of its part of the troubled Belgo-Dutch banking and insurance group,
Hold on to your (tin) hats
It looks like it is going to be another manic Monday for the London market. The FTSE 100 is currently expected to open around 160 points lower (see CityIndex box above) and that follows another weekend of bank bailouts,
Fortis, the former Belgian-Dutch bank…
The three-cornered rescue of Fortis last weekend, whereby the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments agreed to inject €11,3bn of emergency funds, clearly hasn’t worked.
On Friday, the bank was split asunder – the Dutch assets (the bulk of the business) being nationalised by the Dutch government.
Fortis shares fall despite rescue
The new chief executive of Fortis on Monday defended as ”absolutely necessary” the decision by three European governments to part-nationalise the Belgo-Dutch banking and insurance group with an €11.2bn ($16bn) capital injection.
Ping An looks to scrap Fortis deal
Ping An, the Chinese insurer, is considering scrapping its proposed asset management joint venture with Fortis following the shock capital injection by European governments into the troubled Belgo-Dutch group.
Too little too late?
The Tarp is soon to arrive, but markets on Monday are waking up to the fact that it may be too little, too late.
CAC: -3.3%
DAX: -2.9%
FTSEurofirst 300: -2.5%
There’s a broad sell off on the FTSE 100 this morning – down 3 per cent at one point in the first hour of trade.
Governments in $16.3bn Fortis rescue
Fortis was thrown an €11.2bn ($16.3bn) lifeline on Sunday night as the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments combined to inject capital into the troubled banking and insurance group in a last-ditch effort to shore up confidence among savers.
Is Fortis trying to create a run on itself?
From the newswires on Friday:
08:52:48 XE STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Fortis CDS widen on liquidity concerns
08:54:01 XE !! *BELGIAN CENTRAL BANK SAYS TAKING NO SPECIAL ACTION RELATED TO FORTIS
09:05:20 DI DJ MARKET TALK:
NEWSFLASH: Nothing happening in Utrecht
Or Brussels.
Except emails spreading misinformation.
Damn those emails – emanating presumably from the lowlands equivalent of Mayfair. Damn those Leffe quaffing Belgo-hedgies.
Fortis, you see,
Fortis closes three hedge funds
Fortis has closed three small hedge funds following its takeover of part of ABN Amro and merger of the Belgian and Dutch banks’ asset management businesses. Fortis Investments said it had shut down half of its stable of six hedge funds due to personnel changes,
A Franco-Belgian solution?
No sooner have share prices bounced than sector analysts are back to merry game of fantasy M&A – albeit with a post-Crunch twist.
Folkert Jan Van Der Veer and Nigel Myer of Dresdner Kleinwort suggested on Tuesday that management at Fortis – penned in by a weak balance sheet – might offer up the bank’s independence and seek a merger partner.
MTF platforms set to proliferate
Up to three more alternative European equities platforms are in the pipeline in addition to the previously announced ventures such as Turquoise, BATS Trading and Equiduct, according to Fortis, the Belgo-Dutch bank.
Snap news
The latest on Thursday,
- Fortis to sell ABN Amro Teda fund share to Old Mutual – statement
- Persimmon reports H1 pretax profits at £100.9m, vs £281.1m, 5p dividend vs 18.5p – statement
- Amlin
Fortis: Sale to Ping An on track
Fortis on Thursday said it expected to receive Chinese regulatory approval for the sale of half its asset management business to Ping An Insurance later this year, despite media reports of a delay. The struggling Belgo-Dutch financial services group agreed to the €2.15bn deal with the Chinese insurer last April as part of efforts to bolster its balance sheet along with a raft of divestments,
Fortis profits slide on fresh writedowns
Fortis, the stricken Belgo-Dutch financial group, on Monday said its first-half net profit tumbled by 41% as a second wave of writedowns further depleted its stretched balance sheet. Herman Verwilst, the new chief executive,
Weekend catch-up
In case you missed these stories — all from the FT unless otherwise stated
S&P ‘slammed’ mortgage debt products
Analysts at S&P warned against mortgage-related debt products in internal emails that,
Fortis slides amid regulator’s checks
Shares in Fortis plummeted yesterday after the Dutch regulator revealed that it was looking into whether the banking and insurance group had misled investors. Fortis closed down 11.2% at €8.45. The bad news follows the exit of Fortis CEO Jean-Paul Votron,
Snap news
The latest on Friday.
- RBS looks to sell the ABN Amro investment banking business in Australia and New Zealand to National Australia Bank – Statement (via Business Spectator)
- Anheuser-Busch reportedly holds talks with InBev,
Fortis turns to Russian investor
In a sign that banks are looking beyond Asian and Middle Eastern investors for help, Dutch-Belgian bank Fortis is tapping Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov for a €400m ($630m), capital injection, reports the WSJ.
Fortis leads Europe’s banks lower
European equity markets plunged to their lowest level in more than two years on Thursday as banks were hit by news that Belgian-Dutch lender Fortis was to shore up its finances with additional calls for cash from shareholders.
Idiot capital raising, Fortis edition
Barclays didn’t buy ABN Amro. Its shareprice and capital ratios fell to the point where a rights issue become necessary. Fortis did buy ABN Amro (part of it anyway). And like Barclays, it needs money.
It’s not just a €1.5bn equity capital raising either,
Aviva to exit ABN Amro venture
Aviva, the UK’s biggest insurer, is in talks to sell its 51% stake in a Dutch distribution joint venture with ABN Amro to Fortis, the Belgo-Dutch financial services group. The move was prompted by the €71bn acquisition of ABN by a consortium including Royal Bank of Scotland,
Fortis profit falls on further writedowns
Fortis, the financial services group, on Tuesday unveiled a bigger-than-expected fall in Q1 profits after further writedowns related to the credit market. Net profit was €808m, down from €1.17bn in the same period last year.
Snap news
The latest on Tuesday:
- Credit Agricole will announce plans on Thursday to raise several billion euros to cover further writedowns at its investment bank Calyon, reports Les Echos, alongside the departure of chief executive Marc Litzler.