Acquisition

Banco Santander S.A.
27 February 2008


Santander purchases from Fortis ABN AMRO's asset management activities in Brazil


Madrid, February 27th, 2008 - Fortis and Santander today announced that they
have reached an agreement by which Santander will purchase from Fortis the
Brazilian asset management activities of ABN AMRO, which Fortis acquired as part
of the Consortium's (RBS, Fortis and Santander) purchase of ABN AMRO. Fortis
will retain the Latin American (ex-Brazil) institutional sales and some equity
investment teams related to funds distributed through ABN/Fortis channels.

Joan David Grima, Head of Santander Asset Management said, 'After a thorough
analysis, we concluded that, given their local character and distribution
through the local retail network of Banco Real from a customer perspective these
activities were more appropriately aligned to Banco Real, which will become part
of Santander.'

Richard Wohanka, CEO of Fortis Investments, comments: 'We are delighted that we
could reach that agreement with Santander, as it enables both parties to
continue to serve our customers with the best in class, tailor-made products and
services. Fortis Investments continue to manage and develop the Latin American
institutional sales business (ex-Brazil) as well as certain Latin American
Equities investment teams, given their international reach.'

This transaction, which amounts to approximately EUR 209 million, should be
finalised in the second quarter of 2008, subject to customary closing conditions
and regulatory approvals.

Fortis recently received an agreement from the Dutch Regulatory authorities to
move forward with the integration of ABN AMRO's asset management with Fortis
Investments.

Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N) is the largest bank in the euro zone by market
capitalisation and fifth in the world by profit. Founded in 1857, Santander has
EUR 912,915 million in assets and EUR 1,063,892 million in managed funds, 65
million customers, 11,178 branches and a presence in 40 countries. It is the
largest financial group in Spain and Latin America, and is the sixth largest
bank in the United Kingdom, through its Abbey subsidiary, and is the third
largest banking group in Portugal. Through Santander Consumer Finance, it also
operates a leading in 12 European countries (Germany, Italy and Spain, among
others) and the United States. In 2007, Santander registered €9,060 million in
net attributable profits, an increase of 19% from the previous year.

In Latin America, Santander manages over USD 300 billion in business volumes
(loans, deposits, mutual funds, pension funds and managed funds) through 4,498
offices. In 2007, Santander reported USD 3,648 million in net attributable
income in Latin America, 27% higher than the prior year.

Fortis is an international financial services provider engaged in banking and
insurance. We offer our personal, business and institutional customers a
comprehensive package of products and services through our own channels, in
collaboration with intermediaries and through other distribution partners. With
a market capitalisation of EUR 32.8 billion (31/01/2008), Fortis ranks among the
15 largest financial institutions in Europe. Our sound solvency position, our
presence in more than 50 countries and our dedicated, professional workforce of
60,000 enable us to combine global strength with local flexibility and provide
our clients with optimum support. More information is available on
www.fortis.com



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