AGEAS WILL APPEAL AGAINST BELGIAN REGULATOR FINE

Belgium-based insurer Ageas, which has a significant UK presence, has been fined €500,000 ($670,000) by the sanctions commission of the Belgian Financial Services & Markets Authority (FSMA) for breaches of Belgian law by Ageas predecessor Fortis. Ageas said that it would appeal. The FSMA has said that between May and June 2008 Fortis communicated either too late or incorrectly on the remedies required by the European Commission in the light of the take-over of ABN Amro and on Fortis's likely future solvency levels. The fines are for breaches covered by the Dutch regulator, which levied a fine in February 2010. That decision is also subject to appeal by Ageas. FSMA said that an unnamed director and executive of Fortis had also been fined. On May 12 2008 Fortis announced "challenging times" as it reported a Q1 profit down 31% year on year. On June 25th 2008 it announced that it would not be paying an interim dividend and that it would be "accelerating" its solvency programme. However, the company still claimed that its solvency position was strong. But by October 2008 the company was in the process of being broken up.