Declaration by the Board of Fortis N.V. and Fortis SA/NV regarding payment of dividends with respect to the 2009 financial year

BRUSSEL, BELGIUM -- (Marketwire) -- 05/27/09 --

On 15 March 2009, the Board of Fortis N.V. and Fortis SA/NV ("the Parent Companies") confirmed that no dividend would be proposed for the 2008 financial year. As a result, upcoming coupon payments on the outstanding FRESH and CASHES become payable by issuing Fortis shares through the Alternative Coupon Satisfaction Method as mandated under the terms and conditions of the FRESH and CASHES, until such time as the Parent Companies publicly announce their intention to resume payment of a dividend.

The recent General Meeting of Shareholders of Fortis SA/NV approved the proposal to restore the level of distributable reserves. Based on this decision the Board of the Parent Companies met today to consider whether it would resume dividend payments for the 2009 financial year.

The Board confirms its intention to resume the payment of a dividend for the 2009 financial year. The dividend will be equal to or in excess of the Threshold Dividend Yield as required under the terms of both the FRESH and CASHES which implies a dividend yield of at least 0.5% (in accordance with the terms of both the FRESH and the CASHES).

As a result of this public announcement to resume payment of dividends on the Fortis Shares, the mandatory usage of the Alternative Coupon Satisfaction Method to satisfy coupons to be paid on the FRESH and the CASHES is no longer applicable. Consequently the CASHES coupon due on 19 June 2009 (to be paid by Fortis Bank) and the FRESH coupon due on 7 August 2009 (to be paid by the Parent Companies) will be paid in cash.

More information regarding the CASHES and the FRESH is available on http://www.fortisbank.com/en/debtinvestors/disclaimer_prospectuses.asp, on http://www.holding.fortis.com/Debtinvestors/index.asp and on http://www.holding.fortis.com/yourquestions.

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.

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