In the last few months, the global economic slowdown has caused the carve-up of Fortis, once a Benelux banking powerhouse, and what remains is hardly the behemoth that the company was two years ago. But Fortis has held on to its merchant and private banks in Asia, and they, in turn, have upheld their support for the local art scene. In fact, the Fortis Art Bank, a program run by the Fortis’s Asian wealth management unit, has recently announced a roster of exhibitions for 2009.

“Yes, the bank has been in the news a lot because of changes in the business, but to date the bank is still in existence, and the program is still running,” said Fortis Asia spokesperson Clara Goh in Singapore. “Art Bank will continue for as long as we are operating.”

Started in April 2005, Fortis Art Bank allows reputable galleries in Asia to display artworks in the private bank’s offices in Hong Kong and Singapore. The paintings, sculptures, and installations provide décor for meeting rooms and, perhaps more important, go on view before the bank’s wealthy clients. Exhibits change every quarter. Fortis operates the program in conjunction with ArtReach, a Singapore-based consultancy that also runs the annual ArtSingapore fair.

This month, the Singapore branch launched an exhibition of abstract painter Carlo Magno, in partnership with Galerie Joaquin, a local specialist in contemporary Filipino art. In Hong Kong, Art Statements, purveyor of European and Chinese works, began showing paintings by Germany’s Helge Leiberg and France’s Pascal Lievre, photographs by Holland’s Erwin Olaf, and sculptures by the late Spanish surrealist master Salvador Dalí.

Art Bank also recently concluded a collaboration with Schoeni Art Gallery, the Hong Kong space that earned its reputation by championing, as far back as the 1990s, some of the biggest names in new Chinese painting, such as the auction-record–breaking cynical realist Yue Minjun.

Gallery owner Nicole Schoeni says that although she did not sell any works as a result of the partnership, Art Bank proved to be a positive experience. “It was not so much a commercial venture for us, but a way to get exposure for our artists,” she said. “I am always trying to get our artists out there.” Schoeni displayed pieces by Hong Kong’s Mok Wai Hong, Singaporean Mai Jinyao, and China’s Dai Dai and Cao Jingping.

Art Bank does not handle art transactions itself, but rather refers all interested purchasers to the galleries. It does, however, seem to encourage such deals. Company literature states that “art is increasingly seen as both a sound and aesthetic investment.” Sadly, bankers also used to say that about mortgage-backed securities.