Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos and the president of the Dutch central bank DNB Nout Wellink were in Brussels on Sunday to discuss the future of Belgian-Dutch banking and insurance giant Fortis, DPA reported. The two were due to give a press conference later Sunday night, Dutch television reported. On Friday Fortis, which ranks among Europe's top 20 financial institutions, was forced to deny rumours that it was experiencing liquidity problems as its shares took a battering for a fifth day in a row. Bos and Wellink met with the Belgian government, Fortis management, European Central Bank president Jean Claude Trichet and the European Commissioner for Competition, Neelie Kroes. Dutch television RTL reported that Dutch ABN Amro Bank, taken over by Fortis in October 2007 but operating autonomously until late 2009, will be sold to BNP Paribas or ING Bank. On Sunday, the Belgian government reported it would guarantee all savings from Fortis account holders in Belgium and also if the amounts per person exceed the 20,000 euros (29,192 dollars) in savings deposited at one bank usually guaranteed by the Belgian Central Bank. Bos, by contrast, indicated he is reluctant to interfere in the market at this point. The Dutch central bank guarantees a total of 38,000 euros (55,464 dollars) of the first 40,000 euros in savings accounts deposited at one bank.
