Fortis acquires ABN AMRO Asset Management Canada

On April 1, 2008, Fortis Bank SA/NV acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of ABN AMRO Asset Management Holding N.V. (AAAMH), the parent company of ABN AMRO Asset Management Canada Limited. Subsequently, on April 2, 2008, the same issued and outstanding shares of AAAMH were acquired by Fortis Investment Management S.A. Consequently, ABN AMRO Asset Management Canada Limited is now part of the Fortis Investment Management Group. Previously, last fall, a Consortium, consisting of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, Fortis N.V. and Fortis SA/NV (collectively, Fortis), and Banco Santander S.A., through a special purpose company, RFS Holdings B.V., acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of AAAMH. ABN AMRO Asset Management Canada Limited will continue to be run as a separate business and will continue to be the manager, distributor and trustee of the ABN AMRO Global Equity Exposure Fund, which seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciated by obtaining an enhanced exposure to equity markets around the world through the use of derivatives. Fortis was assisted in this transaction from a Canadian perspective by Robert McDowell, Robert Elliott and Garth Foster.