Fortis Receives EU11.2 Bln Rescue From Benelux Governments (Martijn van der Starre & Meera Louis)

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(Bloomberg) -- Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg invested 11.2 billion euros ($16.3 billion) in Fortis, Belgium's biggest financial-services firm, to restore confidence in the bank after shares fell 35 percent last week.

Belgium will buy a 49 percent stake in Fortis's Belgian banking business for 4.7 billion euros, the Belgian government said in a statement yesterday. The Netherlands will pay 4 billion euros for a similar stake in the Dutch banking unit, while Luxembourg will provide a 2.5 billion-euro loan convertible into 49 percent of Fortis's banking division in that country.

Fortis came under pressure because of speculation the company would struggle to replenish capital depleted by the 24.2 billion-euro takeover of ABN Amro Holding NV units last year and credit writedowns. Fortis will sell its stake in ABN Amro's consumer banking unit, though the buyer wasn't identified.

``Confidence in Fortis needs to be restored,'' Corne van Zeijl, a senior portfolio manager at SNS Asset Management in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, who oversees about 750 million euros and owns Fortis shares, said.