And cheap as chips, too, at only €16.8 billion ($25.9 billion)... ::) But there's no crisis.

from Times Online:

Dutch part of Fortis is nationalised

The Netherlands government pays €16.8bn for the troubled bank's Dutch operations, including ABN Amro purchase

The break up of Fortis began today when the Dutch Government bought the Belgo-Dutch financial group’s Netherlands operations in a €16.8 billion (£13 billion) rescue deal. The company is already partially state-owned, after the governments of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg each took a stake in Fortis at the weekend at a cost of €11.2 billion.

The new agreement, hammered out on Thursday night after talks between the three governments, came after stock markets closed. Fortis shares ended the day down 0.79 per cent at €5.42 on Euronext.

Wouter Bos, the Dutch Finance Minister, described the deal as an “extraordinary intervention” made necessary after Fortis’s funding difficulties worsened during the week.

Yves Leterme, the Belgian Prime Minister, admitted yesterday that the decision to offload the Dutch banking and insurance business on the Dutch Government was necessary to keep the bank afloat. "This measure is temporary: once the international financial system has settled, the institutions will be privatised," the Government said in a statement.


Not too long ago Fortis bought its share of (Dutch) ABN Amro Bank for €24.4 billion. Apparently, today it's worth no more than €16.8 billion...



Hey, any of you interested in buying a bank/assurance company by chance? ???

Actually, my financial adviser suggests not doing anything right now.  It might be tempting to buy since stocks are so low and may be under valued, but you never know what company is going to go under.

Video/audio:  The scene from Die Hard where the dude with the missle launcher completely obliterates the LAPD's armored troop carrier.

"Oh my Gawd, the quarterback is toast!"

Scratch Europe.

Barring a diplomatic miracle tomorrow (Sunday), we'll get a patchwork crapfest in which individual EU nations guarantee their own banks' deposits, incentivizing depositors in non-guaranteeing EU countries to start runs on their own banks to shovel their funds into the banks in countries that have guaranteed their deposits. 

That's bad for the banks in the non-guaranteeing countries -- but worse for the countries with the guarantees.  If the Small Bank of Non-Guaranteed Country goes down, that's bad.  If it's because depositors moved a trillion Euros into the Bank of Bagholderland, and the BoB goes down, then the government of Bagholderland goes with it, because to the extent that Bagholderland's GDP is less than a trillion Euros, the Bagholderlandian government can't make good on that deposit guarantee even if it enslaves its citizens and corporations by imposing a year of 100% indentured servitude.  (If it were the United States of Bagholding, it could at least print Bagholderbucks, except that the European Union doesn't have Bagholderbucks.  If Bagholderland happens to be in the EU, it could take the entire European Monetary Union could go with it.)

Actually, my financial adviser suggests not doing anything right now.  It might be tempting to buy since stocks are so low and may be under valued, but you never know what company is going to go under.


I wasn't referring to buying shares - that would indeed be unwise, since you can only buy shares in the Belgo/Luxembourgian leftovers of Fortis Bank. The Dutch part is now state owned, so you can't buy shares even if you wanted to.
I was referring to buying the entire Dutch branch (lock, stock and barrel), 'cause it will be on sale within a couple of years (I assume).
But I don't think any of us can afford buying it. ;)

And just for everyone's information: the money to buy the Dutch branch isn't taxpayer's money. It was/is a loan on the international money market.

America just admit you're broke from hanging out at the strip club, and let's save a little of this country for future generations!
::)

Hey, any of you interested in buying a bank/assurance company by chance? ???


No thanks...as a British taxpayer, I already 'own' two!  :P

One of our major banks was a partner in the overpriced takeover of Amro...it didn't force that bank to the wall, but it did almost directly lead them 'cap in hand' to the shareholders to shore up their finances!