Governance Statement

Fortis is an international group headed by two Parent Companies, the Belgian Fortis SA/NV and the Dutch Fortis N.V. As such, it is subject to both Belgian and Dutch company law. As well as complying with legislation and regulations, the Fortis Board is committed to high standards of corporate governance. Therefore, as a matter of principle, Fortis strives to comply with the Belgian and Dutch Corporate Governance Codes1, always taking into account Fortis’s specific situation as an international company.

The Fortis Board has produced this Fortis Governance Statement as a comprehensive and basic reference on Fortis governance.

It deals with the following topics:

• Part I: The Structure and Organisation of Fortis
• Part II: Fortis Shares and Shareholders
• Part III: Fortis Board
• Part IV: Fortis Board Committees
• Part V: Fortis Executive Management
• Part VI: Fortis Supervision

The Statement also includes, as Appendices, key Fortis policies such as the Principles of Business Conduct, the Fortis Policy on Private Investments, the Policy on the Independence of External Audit Firms and the policy governing Fortis as an institutional investor.

The Statement will be supplemented with factual disclosures on Fortis governance in the Annual Report, and with other official disclosures on Fortis governance made from time to time.

This document is currently under review.