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The acquisition of ABN Amro and the credit crunch has forced Dutch-Belgian bank Fortis to take steps to increase its liquidity with a £6.3bn cash injection.

The bank’s board of directors has decided it will issue £1.2bn worth of new shares and will not pay an interim 2008 dividend.

The plan includes a sale and lease-back transaction of real estate, for about £1.2bn, issuing non-dilutive capital instruments up to £1.2bn, and the sale of non-core assets, which are expected to lead to a total solvency uplift of around £1.6bn.

Jean-Paul Votron, chief executive of Fortis, said: “While our solvency today is strong, the announced measures prepare us for the road ahead, which we believe is a prudent approach to take in the current environment.

“As previously stated, we believe that this year will be a difficult year for our industry and we do not expect an improvement in the economic environment soon. The measures announced today will help Fortis navigate through the current challenging market circumstances and enable us to fully focus on the promising future.”

Fortis was part of a consortium, which includes Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander, that bought Abn for €35bn last year. In the UK, Fortis said it is “researching the possibility” of entering the protection market.