Fortis President Maurice Lippens is made Grand Officer of the Order of Léopold II

Mr Lippens lay behind the creation of the Fortis group in 1990. He is still leading its development, acting amongst other things as Chairman of the Fortis Executive Committee until the year 2000 and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V. since then.

Since 26 May 2004, Mr Lippens has held the sole Presidency of Fortis. He also chairs the Corporate Governance Committee.

Further to the honour conferred upon Mr Lippens by the King, Fortis would like to express its gratitude for the pre-eminent role he plays in the development and reputation of the group.

Fortis is an international financial services provider active in the fields of banking and insurance. With a market capitalization of EUR 22.6 billion (31/05/04) and around 54,000 employees, Fortis ranks in the top 20 of European financial institutions. In its home market, the Benelux countries, Fortis occupies a leading position and offers a broad range of financial services to individuals, companies and the public sector. Outside its home market, Fortis concentrates on selected market segments.
Fortis is listed on the exchanges of Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg and has a sponsored ADR programme in the United States. .More information is available on www.fortis.com