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Belgium stands out in syndication style
Anne Leclercq, Belgian Debt Agency
Edward Russell-Walling reports on how Belgium kept its nerve despite increasing market instability.
Operational risk gets a roadmap
Ignace Combes, TransConstellation
Specialist advice in operational risk management is readily available but practical, constructive tools and techniques for the day-to-day management of risks are less developed. Frances Maguire reports on the move to benchmark best practices in operational risk.
Belgium
Fortis
One of the participants of Europe’s most debated deals (the acquisition of ABN AMRO), Fortis has had an exciting year. It has grown profitability in the wealthy Benelux markets, which provided a 17% net profit increase, and has expanded its business in Turkey, Poland, India and the US.
Belgians break for the border
Jean-Paul Votron: ‘We use the Benelux model to conquer other parts of the world’
Although Belgium’s banks are secure in their comfortable home market, the big players are feeling the pinch and see salvation in the emerging markets of Europe and Asia, says Jules Stewart.
BELGIUM
Jean-Paul Votron
Fortis
Financial performance and expansion ambitions have brought Fortis a very successful year, achieved through organic growth and targeted acquisitions.
BELGIUM
Willy Duron
KBC Group
As a top bancassurance group and asset manager in Belgium with financial activities in central and eastern Europe (CEE) and a pan-European private banking network, KBC is developing its own unique brand throughout its operations.
Belgium
Belgacom’s €3.6bn initial public offering
Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, USB, Dexia and KBC were joint global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners
For markets that have long been running scared of telecoms listings, the Belgacom initial public offering (IPO) was a blow-out deal. At €3.6bn, including a green shoe, it was the largest IPO in Europe since Orange in February 2001 and the largest IPO ever in Belgium.
The deal’s notable features include the tough market conditions and rising volatility at the time, with the overall market and sector trading down by 5%-6% during a bookbuilding period that coincided with the Madrid terrorist attacks. As a consequence of extensive marketing – the management met almost 700 investors – a total demand of more than €11bn was generated. The deal was priced at the midpoint of guidance but, in solid after-market performance, shares had risen 4.8% on the first day of trading.
