VAN LANSCHOT : profit in 2008; traditionally sound balance sheet

  * Substantial inflow of private banking clients (+5%) and savings
    accounts of private clients (+15%)
  * Sound balance sheet; no risky positions; strong capital position
    reflected in Tier I ratio of 10.0% and BIS total capital ratio of
    12.5%; Single A (stable outlook) credit ratings reconfirmed in
    December
  * Net profit for 2008: ? 30.1 million after deduction of ? 76.4
    million (before tax) for one-off items; earnings per share of
    ? 0.55

Floris Deckers, chairman of the Board of Managing Directors: "Van
Lanschot's balance sheet remained solid in 2008. The bank has a
strong capital position and more than sufficient liquidity.
Relatively speaking therefore, the bank has survived a tumultuous
year in good shape. Van Lanschot's business model is relatively
simple and transparent, and the interests of clients are always at
the forefront of everything Van Lanschot does. As a result, a number
of choices were made which have had positive outcomes in the current
circumstances. Of course this doesn't alter the fact I cannot be
satisfied with Van Lanschot's profit for 2008."

Strong inflow of new clients
Clients choose Van Lanschot because of the high-quality services and
personal advice it provides. The first nine months of the year saw a
strong inflow of new private clients. In October 2008, the
government's acquisition of a number of major banks created a new
playing field, leading to an abrupt halt in the inflow of new clients
from these banks and even a slight reversal in the trend. For the
year as a whole, the number of private clients rose by over 5% and
the number of corporate clients by over 8%. Savings accounts and
deposits of private clients increased in 2008 by 15%, or ? 1.5
billion to ? 11.6 billion.

During 2008, Van Lanschot expanded its private banking segment with
the acquisition of Buttonwood in Belgium and ING private banking
Curaçao.

Sound balance sheet
Van Lanschot's services focus on high net-worth individuals, as well
as entrepreneurs and their businesses. Our balance sheet is for our
clients. The use of the balance sheet for the bank's own account is,
and will continue to be, extremely limited. The result of this is a
low risk profile. In line with this, the bank has not invested in the
subprime sector or any other high-risk investments such as CDOs or
SIVs. The bank's investment portfolio (? 0.9 billion) consists
primarily of bonds and government securities with a Triple A rating.
A small portion of the portfolio consisted of positions in equities,
which were liquidated in late 2008, resulting in a loss on sale of
? 51.7 million.

Prudent lending policy
The quality of the loans portfolio is excellent. The losses on the
bank's loans portfolio have traditionally been among the lowest in
the Netherlands. However, in the course of the 2008 the impact of the
economic recession was visible in the form of mounting credit losses.
As a result, the addition to the provision for loan losses in 2008
amounted to 15 basis points of risk-weighted assets, compared with 1
basis point in 2007.

Loans and advances to corporate clients increased 13% in 2008 to
? 6.6 billion. In line with the policy of putting less focus on
mortgages as introduced in 2006, the mortgage portfolio remained more
or less stable at ? 8.0 billion. Overall, the loans portfolio grew 7%
to ? 17.1 billion at year-end 2008, which represents 83% of total
assets.

Capital market accessible for Van Lanschot
In 2008, Van Lanschot succeeded in raising fresh capital in the
capital market on two occasions. In August, it raised a total of
? 100 million in long-term Lower Tier II capital from institutional
investors, and in December ? 150 million in preference shares were
issued to both new and existing institutional and private
shareholders. Van Lanschot's capital ratios have always been among
the best in the market, as befits a private bank. Issuing new capital
puts the bank in a position to ensure its ratios are once again among
the highest new levels on the market. The capital ratios are expected
to be substantially improved by the application of the F-IRB approach
under Basel II, which Van Lanschot hopes to introduce ahead of
schedule in January 2010.

Capital ratios at 31 December 2008 (%)
See attached PDF

Funding ratio (%)
See attached PDF

Strong liquidity position
The bank's cash position is one of the best in the industry. In 2008,
the bank did not have to make use of the lending facilities from the
ECB. The activities of the bank are financed mainly by savings and
deposits of clients. This is reflected in the bank's funding ratio
(the ratio of funds entrusted by clients to total loans and advances)
of 90%, which is among the highest among the Dutch banks. Thanks to
its comfortable liquidity position, in 2008 the bank was able to make
early and scheduled repayments of ? 1.25 billion on Floating Rate
Notes. The bank's sound position was backed up by two rating
agencies, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings, which confirmed the
bank's Single A (stable outlook) credit ratings in July and December.
Competition for savings
As the international capital markets have been more or less closed to
many financial institutions in the past year, and as these financial
institutions have had to take back certain previously securitised
assets onto their balance sheets, their need for funding has
increased enormously. The traditional savings market was the only
market still open. These banks are therefore making more intensive
use of this market than previously. This has led to deposit and
savings rates being offered that are substantially higher than
Euribor rates. Normal interest rate relationships are therefore
completely distorted. Of course, Van Lanschot matches these interest
rates for its own clients.

1-year deposit rate offered by the major banks compared with
12-month Euribor and the ECB refinancing rate (%)
See attached PDF

Asset management
Total assets under management fell in 2008 to ? 24.6 billion due to a
negative market performance. Assets under management for
institutional clients, however, rose as the bank took on a number of
major new clients.

Assets under management at 31 December 2008 (x
? billion)
See attached PDF

Developments in assets under management (x ? billion)
See attached PDF

Net profit
The profit for 2008 was adversely impacted by several one-off items
for an amount of ? 76.4 million. These were the above-mentioned loss
of ? 51.7 million on the sale of the equity portfolio, a write-off of
? 20.5 million relating to capitalised investments for the IT
project, and a provision of ? 4.2 million for the bank's obligations
under the deposit guarantee scheme. On the other hand, a number of
provisions were released within staff costs: a pension provision for
? 8.2 million and a healthcare costs provision for ? 5.2 million.

The interest margin was essentially stable during 2008 at 1.39%. On
balance, the higher volumes were good for a 6% increase in interest
income.

The turmoil on the financial markets made investors very cautious,
and faced with collapsing share prices they sought refuge in
deposits. As a result, the volume of securities transactions in 2008
was down 32% on 2007. In addition, falling share prices resulted in
lower management fees. Overall, in 2008 securities commission
decreased by 33% compared with 2007.

On balance, the net profit for 2008 was ? 30.1 million.

Outlook for 2009
Despite the high quality of the loans portfolio, we expect to have to
increase the addition to the provision for loan losses in 2009. This
increase may be offset to some extent by granting new loans with
better margins, particularly in the corporate sector. During the
first few months of 2009 the mood on the equity markets remained
bearish, and as a consequence investors are staying away from the
markets. We therefore do not expect to return to former levels of
profitability this year.

Van Lanschot's relatively simple and transparent business model means
that the specific risks for the bank are well identified, which
increases predictability. Nevertheless, Van Lanschot can still be
affected by the sector-wide risks during 2009. Although the credit
crisis is unlikely to lead to more of the exceptional write-downs
seen in 2008, it would be wrong to presume that income will improve
significantly. In view of the predicted lower levels of income, Van
Lanschot is taking steps to cut costs, including centralising a
number of mid-office activities and merging two small offices with
larger branches. These efficiency measures will affect the jobs of
approximately 150 FTEs, whereby it is expected that several dozen
employees will be made redundant. In addition, the fixed salaries of
the Managing Directors and the remuneration of the members of the
Supervisory Board have been cut by 10%, while senior management
salaries have been reduced by 7%. No general staff bonus was paid in
relation to 2008.

As part of its cost-cutting measures, the bank is conducting a
comprehensive review of all planned investments. As part of this
review, the phasing down of the project to upgrade the IT environment
is being examined. The consequences of this are currently being
reviewed together with the parties concerned.

Van Lanschot's funding position continues to be strong. The bank is a
net lender on the interbank money market, and it also has more than
? 2 billion available to use as collateral for loans from the ECB if
necessary. In view of our robust funding position, we do not expect
to have to make any calls on the capital market in 2009.

The current financial crisis has put the stability and soundness of
financial institutions under the spotlight. Banks are now expected to
maintain higher capital ratios and to pay more attention to risk
management. The required future profitability of banks will also need
to be reconsidered in the light of the current crisis. In connection
with this, Van Lanschot will conduct a critical review of its
financial targets in the next few months.

Key Dates 2009/2010


Trading update Q1                                     11 May 2009

Annual General Meeting of Shareholders                11 May 2009
Ex-dividend date                                      13 May 2009
Dividend record date                                  15 May 2009
2008 dividend available for payment                   20 May 2009
Publication of 2009 half-year results                 11 August 2009
Trading update Q3                                     6 November 2009
Publication of 2009 annual results                    12 March 2010




's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, 20 March 2009


Van Lanschot press contacts: Etienne te Brake, Corporate
Communication spokesperson.
Telephone [phone]; Mobile phone [phone];
E-mail [e-mail]

Van Lanschot Investor Relations: Geraldine Bakker-Grier, Investor
Relations Manager.
Telephone [phone]; Mobile phone [phone];
E-mail [e-mail]

Van Lanschot NV is the holding company of F. van Lanschot Bankiers
NV, the oldest independent bank in the Netherlands with a history
dating back to 1737. The bank focuses on three target groups: high
net-worth individuals, medium-sized businesses (including family
businesses) and institutional investors. Van Lanschot stands for
high-quality services founded on integrated advice, personal service
and customised solutions. Van Lanschot NV is listed on the Euronext
Amsterdam Stock Market.


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