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ABN AMRO

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AMRO (Euronext: AAB, NYSE: ABN) is one of the largest banks in the Netherlands and has operations all over the world, its history going back to 1824. It is the result of the merger in 1991 of Algemene Bank Nederland (ABN) and the Amsterdamsche-Rotterdamsche Bank (AMRO).

ABN AMRO Holding N.V. is the name of the holding company, which is listed on Euronext Amsterdam as part of the AEX index and the New York Stock Exchange, among other exchanges. Its main subsidiary is ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

According to a March 20, 2007 press release[1], Barclays, one of Britain’s largest banks, is negotiating a merger with ABN AMRO, the largest bank in the Netherlands. ABN AMRO has recently been under pressure from hedge funds to consider a merger or asset sales to bolster its lagging share price[2].

Business units

The business units of ABN AMRO are organised predominantly by regions:

The Netherlands
Europe (excluding the Netherlands)
North America
Latin America
Asia Pacific
Some of the specialty products and clients of ABN AMRO Bank have a global presence:

Private Clients
Global Clients
Global Markets
Transaction Banking
Consumer Banking
Asset Management
Further, the support functions of ABN AMRO are divided into two global business units:

Group Functions
Services
ABN AMRO ranks eighth in Europe and 13th in the world based on total assets, with more than 4,500 branches in 53 countries, a staff of over 110,000 full-time equivalents and total assets of EUR 999 billion (as at 30 September 2006).

The bank has developed a strategy of having three home markets: The Netherlands, the United States, and Brazil. The U.S. commercial banking operations of ABN AMRO consist of LaSalle Bank in Chicago, Illinois and LaSalle Bank Midwest in Detroit, Michigan which operate under the name LaSalle Bank Corporation. LaSalle Bank Midwest is the former Standard Federal Bank, which changed its name on September 12, 2005. ABN AMRO also used to operate ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, one of the leading mortgage servicing companies in the US, but in January 2007 it sold this business to Citigroup [3]. In Brazil, ABN AMRO's subsidiary is Banco Real. Banco Real recently completed an acquisition of Sudameris, a peer bank in the Brazilian market.

In 2005 ABN AMRO acquired Banca Antonveneta of Italy, this effectively gave it a fourth home market. Antonveneta had been a cooperation partner for some years and has a similar client base to ABN AMRO.

In March 2007 ABN AMRO announced that it was bidding US$227mn for a 93.4% stake in Pakistan's Prime Bank, and would tender for the remainder. Prime Bank is Pakistan's 19th largest bank and has 52 billion rupees worth of assets and 41 billion rupees in deposits. It has a network of 69 branches in 25 Pakistani cities. The acquisition, when combined with ABN AMRO's existing operations, would make ABN AMRO the second largest foreign bank in Pakistan (after Standard Chartered, and put it among the 10 largest banks in the country.

Offices

ABN Amro is also the first European bank to open offices in the virtual world of Second Life. Visitors have access to the offices as well as the cabana beach area where free dance sims are available around the bar.

Trivia

ABN AMRO sponsors Ajax Amsterdam football club. The sponsor logo is the only one in the world to be printed vertically down the right hand side of the front of the shirt.
In 2005, ABN AMRO entered into a major IT outsourcing contract involving five vendors. This was notable for two reasons: It involved several vendors competing with each other, deviating from the usual exclusivity arrangements prevalent in most outsourcing contracts. Also, it was the largest contract that Indian firms Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys had signed with any Western company at the time.
ABN AMRO sponsors a number of racing sailboats including two entries in the Volvo Ocean Race. On May 18, 2006 one of the crew Hans Horrevoets, 32, died after being swept overboard in high seas. Although the boat turned around and picked him up he never regained consciousness, and died.
The ABN AMRO-sponsored "ABN AMRO ONE" won the Volvo Ocean Race 2006
ABN AMRO is the founding partner of NEWS, the platform for Dutch students abroad.

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