ING, Fortis ditch Dutch investments: paper

Financial services groups ING and Fortis are ditching their investments in Dutch companies, the Volkskrant reports on Tuesday.


The paper bases its claims on an analysis of share transactions registered with the financial services sector watchdog AFM.
The paper says that ING, which for years was a major shareholder in dozens of Dutch firms via its Nationale Nederland subsidiary, has reduced its stake in 17 bourse-listed companies.
ING has had a €10bn capital injection from the Dutch state and guarantees on its risky US mortgage portfolio totalling €22bn.
ING has reduced its stake in Unilever, Wolters Kluwer, Reed Elsevier, Akzo Nobel, DSM and Randstad, the paper says.
Fortis has also reduced its stake in five companies, including ING Bam and Nutreco, the paper says.
‘We are aware of the social responsibilities associated with being a trusted shareholder,’ an ING spokesman told the Volkskrant. ‘But there is a limit.’ The company’s focus is on reducing its shareholdings in order to make it less vulnerable, he said.

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