Dividend

Dividend policy

As part of its long term financial targets set out in 2005, Fortis aims to pay, on an annual basis, a dividend which is growing or at least stable compared to the previous year; taking into account not only the current profitability and solvency but also the prospects of the company. This policy confirms the importance that Fortis attaches to creating value for its shareholders. The Board will propose the amount of the final dividend at the time of the announcement of the full year results and it will be subject to the approval by the General Meetings of Shareholders.
Moreover an interim dividend is paid in September. The interim dividend will in normal circumstances amount to 50% of the annual dividend over the preceding financial year. The interim dividend will be announced together with the publication of the half year results.

For more details about the relevant dates, please visit our financial calendar.

2007 Final Dividend

The Board of Directors of 6 March 2008 has decided to propose a final cash dividend of EUR 0.59 per share. For the first half of 2007, Fortis has paid an interim dividend of EUR 0.70 per share in September, in line with its dividend policy to pay half of the dividend of the previous year. Adjusted for the impact of the Right Issue, the 2007 interim dividend is equal to EUR 0.586 per share. This dividend proposal has been approved by the General Shareholders meetings of 29 April 2008.

The payment of the dividend is possible at every financial institution or bank within Belgium or The Netherlands, while the official paying agents are Fortis Bank Belgium, Fortis Bank Netherlands and Petercam.

The dividend from the Dutch source is subject to a 15% dividend tax.
The dividend from the Belgian source is subject to a 25% withholding tax reduced to 15% when the corresponding coupon from the VVPR strip is presented simultaneously with the share coupon. The rights attached to the VVPR strips apply only to the dividend from the Belgian source.

Dividend overview

Dividend (in EUR)

Coupon nr	Gross amount	Payment date	Type
41	0.59	27 May 2008	Final dividend 2007
39	0.70	6 September 2007	Interim dividend 2007
38	0.82	14 June 2007	Final dividend 2006
37	0.58	7 September 2006	Interim dividend 2006
36	0.64	22 June 2006	Final dividend 2005
35	0.52	15 September 2005	Interim dividend 2005
34	1.04	16 June 2005	Dividend 2004
33	0.92	17 June 2004	Dividend 2003
32	0.88	18 June 2003	Dividend 2002
31	0.88	20 June 2002	Dividend 2001
3	0.88	8 June 2001	Dividend 2000
2	0.76	26 May 2000	Dividend 1999

Dividend election procedure

Each Fortis share represents one share in each of the two Fortis parent companies, i.e. Fortis N.V. and Fortis SA/NV. Shareholders can therefore decide from which parent company they wish to receive dividend. They can choose Fortis N.V. and receive dividend from the Dutch source, or Fortis SA/NV and receive dividend from the Belgian source. Shareholders must make their choice known during the dividend election period.

More information on Dividend Election in the “Fortis Governance Statement”

Timetable final dividend of 2007:

7 March 2008 Annual results 2007

2 May 2008 Fortis share quotes ex-dividend

2 May 2008 Start of the dividend election period

20 May 2008 End of the dividend election period

27 May 2008 Payment of the 2007 final dividend

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