|
|
Article: Embattled lender Fortis temporarily 'nationalised' by Dutch government
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- October 4, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
THE DUTCH government is buying the core Netherlands businesses of
Fortis, the embattled Benelux lender, for 16.8bn (13.1bn) to prevent
instability at the bank threatening the country's economy.
The move came only a few days after the governments of the
Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg had agreed a part-
nationalisation deal to buy minority stakes in Fortis's banking
businesses to restore investor confidence in Fortis.
Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch prime minister, said yesterday
that "further steps proved necessary" to safeguard the Dutch
operations. "Most problems lay in the Belgian part of Fortis. We
wanted to make sure the Dutch activities wouldn't get into
problems," he added.
The ...