Dutch lender ABN AMRO pushing into Asia with three business focus
Gerrit Zalm, ABN AMRO’s chairman and former finance minister of the Netherlands, says that the government-owned bank is focusing on private banking, clearing and commodities services. December 15, 2011 | Peter HoflichPre-2007, ABN AMRO had a presence in 60 countries around the world, expanding aggressively around the region—in 2005, for example, it launched domestic private banking operations in Taiwan. Now the bank has presence in only 27 markets, including four in Asia, after a complex nationalisation by the Dutch government of domestic ABN AMRO and Fortis operations, and some of Fortis’ operations in Asia. The re-moulded bank is re-strategising and is placing its Asia focus on private banking, equities and derivatives clearing, as well as standard and structured banking services for commodities and trade finance, shipping, and oil and gas clients under the energy, commodities and transportation (ECT) business umbrella. According to Gerrit Zalm, group chairman, the bank aims to use its balance sheet to expand in the region, having passed recent European Banking Authority stress tests that have impacted so many of the bank’s rivals. “We recently even gotten an upgrade from Standard & Poor’s, which is rather unusual, because they are in the business of downgrading nowadays,” says Zalm. “So we are not in a position that we have to shrink our balance sheet; on the contrary, we have room for growth, and we intend to grow our business next year and in the years to come, and Asia is certainly a place where we think we can grow our business.” The ratings agency, recognised the clear “potential extraordinary government support in a crisis”, as ABN AMRO is now 97% government-owned, and raised its long-term counterparty credit rating to A+ from A. Zalm claims that it is one of the few European lenders to have significant access to US dollar money markets. In potential deals in Asia, he says the bank will focus picking up the assets of clients it knows it can build relationships with, as well as good bargains. Only 20% of the bank’s profits come from outside of the Netherlands, and Zalm is hoping to increase this, although he refra... Please login to read the complete article. If you already have an account, you can login now or subscribe/register.
Categories: Branch Banking, Private Banking, Retail BankingBranch Banking,Private Banking,retail, Branch Banking,Private Banking,Retail Banking, Keywords:ABN AMRO, Gerrit Zalm, Netherlands, Fortis Operations, AUM, EBA ABN AMRO, Gerrit Zalm, Netherlands, Fortis Operations, AUM, EBA
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