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FORTIS: Fortis holding announces strengthened Corporate Governance model and composition of Board Committees

^{Published on 2009-05-08 09:53:51, Last Modified on 2009-05-08 09:54:55 - Market Wire}
 

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM--(Marketwire - May 8, 2009) -

At the General Meetings of Shareholders of Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V. on 28 and 29 April 2009 shareholders voted for the election of five new members of the Board of Directors, including Frank Arts, Chevalier Guy de Selliers de Moranville, Roel Nieuwdorp, Lionel Perl and Jin Shaoliang.

Today the Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Chevalier Guy de Selliers de Moranville as Vice-Chairman of Fortis. At the same time Fortis has announced the composition of three Board committees as follows:-

* Audit Committee: chaired by Jan Zegering Hadders - members: Lionel Perl, Jin Shaoliang & Frank Arts.

* Remuneration Committee: chaired by Frank Arts - members: Lionel Perl, Jin Shaoliang & Roel Nieuwdorp.

* Governance Committee: chaired by Jozef De Mey - members: Guy de Selliers, Jan Zegering Hadders & Roel Nieuwdorp.

As CEO of Fortis holding, Karel De Boeck will have an open invitation to attend the Board Committees.

The new structure reflects a number of important changes to the previous Fortis Governance model:

* The newly created Governance Committee has been established to promote the highest standards of Corporate Governance which reflects the expectations of all our stakeholders.

* The stand-alone Risk & Capital Committee has been abolished. Risk issues will in the future be addressed within the framework of the Audit Committee while Capital Management topics will be addressed by the Fortis Board of Directors.

* The Nominations process will no longer be the responsibility of the Remuneration Committee, but will be covered by the Governance Committee.

This Governance Committee will assist the Board in:

* Developing a more pro-active and transparent dialogue with shareholders

* Ensuring that the Board operates effectively and in full compliance with its fiduciary responsibilities

* Evaluating the efficiency of the management structure to ensure that the most competent and motivated senior management team is in place

Commenting on the new Governance framework Chairman of Fortis, Jozef De Mey, said:- "As a Board we recognized the urgent need to strengthen our governance framework as quickly as possible. The changes we have put in place demonstrate a strong commitment to the highest standards of Governance in the future. The improved Governance structure will assist the Board in taking the necessary measures to rebuild Fortis as a focused insurance company in the interests of creating long term value for shareholders."

Fortis CEO Karel De Boeck added: "The new Board understands the importance of acting quickly and has wasted no time in getting to grips with the key issues. The changes outlined will ensure the Board is fully engaged in the topics of most importance to our shareholders. We are fortunate to have a cohesive Board with a real depth of experience and expertise."

Fortis holding (Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V.) consists of (1) Fortis Insurance Belgium (2) Fortis Insurance International, and (3) financial assets and liabilities of various financing vehicles. The international insurance activities (Fortis Insurance International) are located in the UK, France, Hong Kong, Luxembourg (Non-Life), Germany, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and in joint ventures in Luxembourg (Life), Portugal, China, Malaysia, India and Thailand. Fortis holding is not involved in banking activities.

This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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