Herman Verwilst, currently Fortis deputy CEO and executive member ofthe Board, has agreed to take over the Group CEO function. The boardis convinced that Herman Verwilst, given his longstanding experiencein Fortis, is well equipped to lead the company in these challengingtimes and environment.

The Board has decided to start an executive search within, andoutside, the company for the future succession of the CEO.

These decisions can only become official pending approval by thefinancial regulators CBFA in Belgium and DNB in the Netherlands.

The members of the Board wish to thank M. Votron for his commitmentto Fortis during the past four years. He has made a crucialcontribution to the development of Fortis and has transformed thecompany, thanks to important strategic decisions, into a moreinternational group. The Board has always, jointly and in confidence,supported the plans proposed by the management under his leadership.In this respect, we refer a.o. to the acquisition of ABN AMRO and therecent solvency plan. Further to his departure, M. Votron willreceive a contractual compensation equivalent to his current annualbase salary.

Attached: CV of Herman Verwilst

To the editors: The half year results will be presented in Brusselson 4 August 2008 in presence of Herman Verwilst

Fortis is an international provider of banking and insurance servicesto personal, business and institutional customers. We deliver a totalpackage of financial products and services through our ownhigh-performance channels and via intermediaries and other partners.Fortis ranks among Europe's top 20 financial institutions. Togetherwith ABN AMRO, we have a presence in over 50 countries and adedicated, professional workforce of more than 85,000. All this makesus a leader in financial services in Europe, a top 3 private bankerand a top tier asset manager. More information is available atwww.fortis.com.

Attached: CV of Herman Verwilst

Herman VerwilstExecutive Director of Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V.Deputy CEOChairman of the Board Of Directors of Fortis BankChairman of the Board of Directors of Fortis InsuranceExtraordinary Professor at the Financial Economics Department of theUniversity of Ghent

Herman Verwilst was born in Sint-Amandsberg (Ghent, Belgium) in 1947.

He has a Master's degree in Economics (Ghent, 1970) and a Ph. D. inEconomics (The Johns Hopkins University, USA, 1974).

He was Chairman of Fortis Bank's Management Committee from July 1998until January 2008. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors ofFortis Bank and Fortis Insurance since January 2008. H. Verwilst tookon additional roles in the company when he was named Deputy CEO inSeptember 2000, Chief Operating Officer from October 2004 untilDecember 2007, and Executive Director of Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V.in May 2007. Prior to his current appointments, H. Verwilst workedin various positions within Fortis in the 1990s.

Prior to working for Fortis, H. Verwilst held various positions inboth academia and government, including Chief of Staff of theMinister for Economic Affairs and Planning, a member of the BelgiumSenate. He was a lecturer and professor at the University of Ghent,a visiting professor at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, Indonesia,and taught at the University of Maryland. He also worked as aneconomist for the International Monetary Fund. At present, he isstill teaching at Ghent University.

H. Verwilst's current board memberships include the Instituto deEmpresa International Advisory Board. He is also a former director ofthe Institute of International Finance and the International MonetaryConference.

He holds several mandates within the Fortis group and publishedextensively in both national and international journals on exchangerate problems, monetary policy and international finance.

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