BizAims

1991 Combined forces

The two largest commercial banks in the Netherlands, Algemene Bank Nederland(ABN Bank) and Amsterdam-Rotterdam Bank (Amro Bank) announced a merger feasibility study in March 1990. The study soon yielded positive results and ABN AMRO Holding was established on 30 May 1990. The legal merger between ABN Bank and Amro Bank took place on 22 September 1991.

The reasons for the merger lay in the need to combine forces in order to expand and reinforce the prominent positions that the two banks occupied in their own right. The worldwide scaling up of companies and financial institutions called for a bank with a strong capital base and broad expertise.

In time ABN AMRO focused on three home markets: the Netherlands, the US Midwest and Brazil.

1991-present Acquisitions and divestments in The Netherlands

In the Netherlands ABN AMRO acquired LeasePlan in 1992 from subsidiary Bank Mees & Hope. The two subsidiaries Bank Mees & Hope and Pierson, Heldring & Pierson were merged in 1993, to form MeesPierson. This subsidiary was sold to Fortis in 1997. Bouwfonds Nederlandse Gemeenten, a commercial and private property developer, was acquired in 2000. A joint venture in bancassurance between ABN AMRO and Delta Lloyd was launched in 2003.

By 2006, a number of non-core or non-sustainable activities had been sold: LeasePlan Corporation in 2004, and private bank Nachenius, Tjeenk & Co. in 2005. In December 2006 ABN AMRO announced that the process of divesting Bouwfonds will start in the first quarter of 2006.

1992-present US Midwest

ABN AMRO has pushed ahead with international expansion since its merger. In July 1991, subsidiary LaSalle National Corporation of Chicago took over another Chicago bank, Talman Home Federal Savings & Loan Association. In July 1993, ABN AMRO announced the acquisition of Cragin Federal Bank for Savings in Illinois, US.

A significant acquisition was the 1996 take-over of Michigan-based Standard Federal Bancorporation. Founded in 1893, Standard Federal had grown from a small mutual savings association into one of the Midwest’s leading financial services companies. In one fell swoop, ABN AMRO had become a leading player in the US Midwest banking sector, with a major share of the region’s lucrative mortgage-lending business. This was one of the reasons for the quotation of American Depositary Receipts ABN AMRO Holding N.V. on the New York Stock Exchange in May 1997.

The position in the Midwest was consolidated even further with the 2001 takeover of Michigan National Corporation (MNC). The merger of MNC with Standard Federal created the second-largest bank in Michigan. New York based European American Bank was sold to Citibank in 2001.

1998-present Brazil

In November 1998, the acquisition of Brazilian bank Banco Real was completed. Founded in 1925 as a small co-operative bank, Banco Real had grown into the fourth-largest privately owned bank in Brazil, with operations in several other Latin American countries.

ABN AMRO had been active in Brazil since 1917 as Banco Holandés da America do Sul, but the acquisition of Banco Real and the small state-owned banks Bandepe and Paraiban firmly established Brazil  as ABN AMRO’s third home market.

In 2003, when many foreign players were cutting back on their investment or even withdrawing from Brazil, ABN AMRO Banco Real surprised the markets by announcing the acquisition of Brazilian bank Sudameris. The move reinforced ABN AMRO’s position as fourth-largest bank in Brazil  and provided it with a firm foothold in the economically vibrant south-east of the country.

1992-present Global clients

The London stock broking firm of Hoare Govett was taken over by ABN AMRO in June 1992. In 1994, this was followed by the purchase of a stake in Hoare Govett Asia, which was increased to a majority stake a year later. In 1995 the Scandinavian investment bank Alfred Berg was also acquired. Founded as a stock broking firm in 1863 - the same year the Stockholm  stock exchange opened its doors - the Swedish firm was taken over by banker Alfred Berg in 1901. The company now provides wholesale banking and asset management operations in four Nordic countries. The name of Alfred Berg SE was re-branded in ABN AMRO in June 2006.

The growing network of investment banks paved the way in 1996 for the joint venture with prestigious merchant bank N.M. Rothschild & Sons, London.

The move allowed ABN AMRO to profit from Rothschild’s strong position in international privatizations and boosted ABN AMRO’s share of the stock issue market.

1998-present International developments

In the area of custodial and administrative services for securities, ABN AMRO started a co-operative arrangement in November 1998 with Mellon Bank Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

ABN AMRO’s presence in Germany was strengthened in 2002 through the acquisition of German private bank Delbrück & Co. Delbrück & Co is one of the oldest and most prestigious private banks in Germany with a history dating back almost 300 years. This was followed in 2003 by the acquisition of BethmannMaffei of Frankfurt (est. 1748). The merged entity was re-branded as Delbrück BethmannMaffei.

In 2000, the bank introduced a new organisational structure, restructuring the bank into three largely autonomous Strategic Business Units (SBUs). As of 1 January 2006, this structure was replaced by a system of two global and five regional Client Business Units, and three global Product Business Units.

After a long and much publicized struggle for control of Banca Antonveneta – a banking group with a strong presence in Italy’s wealthy north-eastern region - ABN AMRO managed to take a majority stake early 2006.