ABN Amro claims second victim in Fortis

Benelux bank Fortis today revealed a net loss of €14.1 billion for the first nine months of 2008, due mainly to its acquisition of parts of ABN Amro.

The bank's revelation comes just days after the Royal Bank of Scotland announced expected writedowns and losses of £28 billion for 2008, primarily as a result of its part in the ABN Amro deal.

Fortis lost €12.5 billion on its purchase of ABN Amro, due to a €9 billion impairment on the banks' Dutch business, Fortis Bank Nederland Holding, which included the acquired parts of ABN Amro.

Additionally, Fortis incurred a €1.8 billion goodwill impairment on its asset management business following the collapse of a €2.15 billion deal brokered on March 19, 2008 with Chinese insurance company Ping An to acquire a 50% equity stake in the Dutch firm's asset management operations.

The bank also blamed deteriorating market conditions for its poor performance in the first three quarters of the year. Losses of between €4 billion and €5 billion are predicted for Q4.

See also: Massive writedowns expose failure of RBS' ABN Amro takeover
BNP to liquidate Fortis' €10.4 billion toxic assets