Belgium hit by the financial crisis?

[martien007]

Hello Belgians! Fortis bank, you know?

AFP the 26 / 09 / 2008 14h41

Fortis bancassurer to sell 5 to 10 billion euros in assets

Fortis CEO Herman Verwilst, September 26, 2008 in Brussels
© AFP Dominique Faget
Belgian-Dutch bancassurer Fortis announced on Friday that it would sell assets worth 5-10 billion euros due to "currently difficult market circumstances", while ensuring that it had liquidity and was solvent.

"Taking into account the currently difficult market circumstances (...) it was decided to implement a wider range of activities and assets to be sold or sold", writes Fortis in a press release, specifying that "the total estimates run between 5 and 10 billion euros ".

"These activities which will have to be put up for sale are located both in the Benelux and outside", specifies Fortis, according to which they concern both the insurance sector and that of the bank.

Fortis also ensures that it has a "diversified liquidity base of more than 300 billion euros" and that its solvency "is well above the minimum" required by law. Fortis shares lost 8,85% to 5,97 euros at 10:00 GMT on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. The title Fortis had lost up to 20% in session Thursday, weighed down by new rumors according to which the Dutch Rabobank would have been asked to provide liquidity to Fortis, rumors denied by the two concerned.

Fortis' market capitalization has dropped to 15 billion euros, and the share value has been halved since June 2006.

"The value of Fortis is undoubtedly much higher than that of the current share price", which values ​​the group as a whole at some 9 billion euros, estimated to the press the executive director of Fortis Herman Verwilst in Brussels.

"The stock market price today does not reflect the value of the company", he added, urging to take into account "the nervousness and the emotion" which characterizes the financial markets since the aggravation of the crisis in the United States.

Affected by the subprime mortgage crisis which has already cost it some 2,9 billion euros net over the last three quarters, the group is still seeking to complete the financing of the buyout of a third of the Dutch bank ABM Amro for an amount of 24 billion euros.

By announcing in June a solvency plan intended to release 8,3 billion euros by the end of 2009, Fortis had already specified that it would part with "non-strategic" assets and real estate, for 3,5 Billions of Euro's.

Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders tried to reassure public opinion, assuring that the government would not leave any client in difficulty.

..... when a minister begins to reassure (nobody asked him anything), it is a bad sign, it is that he has something to hide

[Lietseu]

Of course, they have known for at least as long as you and I!
And they have first-hand information, so ... CQFD!

The crisis has started, for good and the war is not far away, who will be the bad guy this time? The Chinese, the Russians, the terrorists?

As I said 20 years ago, the only thing that can save us from another is that nature "occupies" humans in such a way that we have no other concerns than save us, some, the others from natural cataclysms!

It's off to a good start, isn't it?

Greetings from Lietseu

[loupenequet]

Hello
I am neither an economist nor a specialist in politics.
What I'm sure is that the banks have only reaped what they sowed.
They are the first to speculate through their advisers. It is sure that the common people are not in this financial debacle. It is the small world of finance that is put in "shit" to always want to live on behalf of others.
It is only the small people who benefit from consumer loans at "preferential" rates which rise to more than 20% "a shame for our politicians. The banks they put their pockets full. on behalf of the workers. They have no mood, on the other hand business does not go the same way in big finance the Bankers have a lot to do in the wild animal cage. Don't get me wrong citizens the turkeys of the "joke" will always be the one who sweats. Do not worry about the bankers. They are the first to bet on the companies which relocate and which separate from the personnel. Did you know that the banks lend money money to modernize a factory, a company, but in any case it will not lend to create jobs !! that says a lot about the principles of finance.
As we say in ordinary language "there is no smoke without fire".
We French since public funds have been robbed with a vengeance, we are used to constantly paying to "mop up" an ocean of scams. whether it is the general company, the Lyonnais credit, the sniffer planes, the Elf business, the gold mine of Peru, Airbus etc. etc. We are also the best in terms of the number of French people without work and homeless people. We don't fool you either bankers and politicians don't care about their first shirt.
Whatever the problem, we are always the "joke turkeys" and we will end up paying with our sweat for the financial turpitudes of the so-called managers of our nations.

[Christophe]

Idem: I am not a specialist, but I tell you more, except that those who are currently toast are not the real ones !! As often you will tell me ...

Most European banks have been scammed (there is no other word because offering a CCC product in AAA is a scam) by a few financiers of amerloques... Their only mistake is not to have checked their investment enough and to have trusted too much (but in this case if everything had to be checked ...).

After the "trick" was anyway based on a scam and a false premise: that real estate values ​​can only rise ... There are only magic beans that rise to the sky.

A subject that went unnoticed but which is really interesting to understand the crisis in 10 minutes:

https://www.econologie.com/forums/b-a-ba-des ... t6175.html

All this brings in my opinion only one conclusion: we must return to a more human capitalism!

[swift2540]

Fortis also ensures that it has a "diversified liquidity base of more than 300 billion euros"

the group is still seeking to complete the financing of the buyout of a third of the dutch bank ABM Amro for an amount of 24 billion euros.

Excuse my ignorance on the matter, but if I have 300M € "in my pocket", I do not see where is the problem to pay 24M €

Or, Fortis is about to pay something else

[robertlebois]

It is the end of a greedy and irresponsible system.

The USA, the UK and now Belgium !!

It is the axis of evil that is affected.

The American economy is going to collapse completely bringing in its fall its most faithful partners of the axis of evil, of the axis of stupidity, of the axis of greed.

Rob