ABN AMRO
| ABN AMRO Holding NV | |
| |
| Founded | 1991 through merger |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
| Key People | Kees van Dijkhuizen, Chairman and CEO |
| Website | abnamro.com |
Dutch bank ABN AMRO is the third largest bank in the Netherlands. It offers retail, private banking and corporate banking clients a full range of financial services and advice. It is majority owned by the Dutch government.
ABN AMRO had already become one of Europe's largest banks through a string of acquisitions at home and abroad when it was acquired by the consortium of Fortis, RBS and Santander in October 2007 for about $94 billion.
On 3 October 2008, the Dutch state announced that it had bought Fortis Bank Nederland, including its interests in ABN AMRO. In December 2008, the Dutch state replaced Fortis as a stakeholder in RFS Holdings.[1] ABN AMRO and Fortis Bank Nederland merged in 2010 to form the current ABN AMRO.[2]
History[edit]
ABN AMRO is the product of a history of mergers that dates back to the 1700s. ABN AMRO Holding NV was officially created in 1991 when Amro Bank, founded in 1964 through the merger of Amsterdamsche Bank and Rotterdamsche Bank, joined ABN Bank, which was also formed in 1964 through the merger of Twentsche Bank with Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij.[3] ABN AMRO then pushed aggressively into the U.S. market by acquiring a LaSalle Bank in Illinois and another two in Michigan that it subsequently merged.[4]
ABN AMRO in 2007 had 102,566 employees worldwide and recorded almost $63.9 billion in revenue, $10 billion less than the figure a year earlier.[5] By contrast, next-door German giant and competitor Deutsche Bank racked up sales of $101 billion in 2007 with 33,000 fewer employees.
The Dutch state spent almost 22 billion euros to rescue ABN Amro in the throes of the 2008 financial crisis, costing Dutch taxpayers €21.7 billion at the time. It took the bank public in 2015 and sold a 23% stake in the offering, but it still owned a majority of the shares. Under government ownership, ABN Amro transformed itself from one of the world’s largest banks to a consumer lender focused on the Netherlands.[6] The Netherlands began a gradual exit through share disposals. As of October 2023, the Netherlands had cut its holdings in ABN Amro to below 50%.[7]
The Sale[edit]
ABN AMRO first announced in April 2007 that it had agreed to be purchased by British bank Barclay's for €67 billion (91 billion).[8] But a rival consortium of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Spain's Banco Santander Central Hispano and Fortis, Belgium's largest financial-service group, successfully bid up the price to €72 billion, making it the largest business deal in Europe's history. The three then broke up ABN AMRO and laid claim to its operations by region: Santander the Brazilian and Italian, Fortis the Dutch and RBS the Asian and North American banking arms.[9]
On 1 July 2010 the merger between ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and Fortis Bank (Nederland) N.V. was completed, creating a combined entity called ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
Key People[edit]
- Robert Swaak, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
- Lars Kramer, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer
Other Divisions[edit]
(not a complete list)
- ABN AMRO Clearing and Execution Services
- ABN AMRO Futures
- ABN AMRO Futures London
- ABN AMRO Futures Ltd. (Singapore)
- ABN AMRO Sage Corporation
- ABN AMRO Wholesale Bank
References[edit]
- ↑ Press Room. ABN AMRO.
- ↑ Our Company. ABN AMRO.
- ↑ Timeline. ABN AMRO.
- ↑ About ABN AMRO. ABN AMRO.
- ↑ ABN AMRO Income Statement. Hoovers.com.
- ↑ BNP Paribas Shows Interest in Buying ABN Amro. Bloomberg.
- ↑ Netherlands Loses $7 Billion in ABN Amro Rescue. Bloomberg.
- ↑ ABN AMRO to Be Acquired for $91 Billion. New York Times.
- ↑ ABN AMRO Company Description. Hoovers.com.