Fortis Holdings, which houses the insurance business of the dismantled Fortis group, has pledged to pay up to half of its net profits in dividends when it resumes payments to shareholders. Under the plan, unveiled in the results of a strategic review, Fortis said it plans to pay dividends of between 40% and 50% from its insurance net profits. Announcing the results of its review, Fortis said its current capitalization levels, with a solvency level of 229%, "are among the strongest in the industry". It said it will decline the option to borrow €760m from a €1bn facility offered by BNP Paribas Fortis Bank, guaranteed by the Belgian state, to refinance the acquisition of its stake in Royal Park Investments. "Fortis' capital structure is sufficiently sound for Fortis not to rely any more on financial support from the Belgian State," it said. Fortis added that it will hold back €1.3bn - about half its total capital - in reserves to address remaining uncertainties for the business while some of the money "could be allocated to a number of potential investments". Fortis has established criteria for any potential acquisitions. The company said it will rebrand by May 2011 as BNP Paribas owns the rights to the Fortis name through its acquisition of some of the other parts of the Fortis group.

... is establishing a new worldwide property division that will initially write on behalf of its Lloyd's underwriting operation Marlborough Underwriting Agency's Syndicate 1861. Next year, the new division is to be supported by a new mixed-capital Syndicate 1969. Nick Jones has been named head of the new division.

Profits from insurance business in Ireland fell 82% to €122m in 2008, according to local reports, citing new data released by the Irish Financial Regulator. Motor insurance, the largest non-life sector in Ireland, recorded a 92% drop in profit from €357m to €35m, the Irish Examiner said. The regulator's data also revealed that net underwriting profit for foreign business written from Ireland totalled €126.2m, down from €348m, with Irish authorised companies recording profits of €142m but branches of overseas companies recording a loss of €16.2m.

The head of Dutch insurer Aegon has said the firm had enough capital to survive the financial crisis and did not need the €3bn in state aid that it received in October 2008. CEO of Aegon Alex Wynaendts is quoted in the Financieele Dagblad newspaper as saying that the state aid helped preserve its financial strength rating: "Nobody knew what was going to happen after the fall of Lehman. We wanted to be cautious." Aegon has pledged to pay back €1bn of the state's money by the beginning of December this year with the remainder scheduled to be returned within the three-year deadline.