BNP Paribas wishes to thank the Fortis shareholders who voted for the BNP Paribas plan at their General Meetings of April 28 and 29, 2009. BNP Paribas also wishes to extend thanks to its partners:

- The governments of Belgium and Luxembourg, for their steadfast resolve to bring this project to fruition, in the interests of customers, employees and shareholders.

- Fortis Holding, with which the BNP Paribas Group is now associated through a long-term partnership agreement in the area of insurance.

Implementation of the integration plan, which is still subject to approval by the regulatory authorities, will enable Fortis Bank and BNP Paribas to build a new industryleading group in Europe, whose primary objective is to support the real economy by offering loans to individuals and companies, managing customers' savings, financing major projects and supporting exporters.

The consolidated group formed by BNP Paribas and Fortis Bank will be the number 1 bank in the euro zone in terms of deposits, with 540 billion euros, and the only European financial services group with four domestic markets: Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg. A major force in retail banking, the new group will also be one of the top-ranked players in corporate and investment banking, private banking and asset management. Beyond its domestic markets, the new group will have strong positions in many other retail banking markets such as the United States, countries surrounding the Mediterranean (Turkey and North African countries, in particular), Poland and Ukraine.

For Fortis Bank customers, the deal is good news. They will benefit from the solidity of BNP Paribas as well as from its global service platforms, while continuing to be served locally by their usual branch and banking adviser.