The nationalisation is suppposed to be a temporary measure. In time parts of the bank can be sold on.
The decision was announced following a meeting of the Belgian cabinet on Sunday.
Belgium's central banker, Guy Quaden and the President of the European central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet met with government ministers on Sunday afternoon too.
The decision was announced following a meeting of the Belgian cabinet on Sunday.
Belgium's central banker, Guy Quaden and the President of the European central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet met with government ministers on Sunday afternoon too.
The group's future has been in growing doubt in recent days as the Fortis management failed to stop the company’s share value plummeting on the stock exchange.
The bank/insurer got into financial difficulty after it took over the Dutch bank ABN Amro just before the American subprime credit crisis started.
Fortis consists of two main divisions: one that groups banking activities, a second that does insurance.
The banking activities are being nationalised.
For Fortis this is, in a way, a return to the public sector. Fortis was formed in 1999 as the result of a merger of the public bank ASLK/CGER and Generale Bank.
Fortis is the largest bank of the Benelux and one of the biggest players in Europe.
The nationalisation came at the end of a day in which attempts to get France's BNP Parisbas and the Dutch bank ING to purchase parts of Fortis failed because no agreement could be reached on price.
The bank/insurer got into financial difficulty after it took over the Dutch bank ABN Amro just before the American subprime credit crisis started.
Fortis consists of two main divisions: one that groups banking activities, a second that does insurance.
The banking activities are being nationalised.
For Fortis this is, in a way, a return to the public sector. Fortis was formed in 1999 as the result of a merger of the public bank ASLK/CGER and Generale Bank.
Fortis is the largest bank of the Benelux and one of the biggest players in Europe.
The nationalisation came at the end of a day in which attempts to get France's BNP Parisbas and the Dutch bank ING to purchase parts of Fortis failed because no agreement could be reached on price.
