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The AMsterdamsche en ROtterdamsche Bank (AMRO Bank, ) was a major Dutch bank that was created in 1964 by the merger of the Amsterdamsche Bank (est. 1871) and the Rotterdamsche Bank (est. 1863). In 1991, it merged with Algemene Bank Nederland (ABN) to form ABN AMRO.
As early as 1939, there had been plans to merge the two banks but the banks shelved these plans in anticipation of Dutch involvement in
File:Amsterdam-Booking.com aan Rembrandtplein (1).jpg, Amsterdam head office before 1987, lately headquarters of Booking.com
File:Forum Rotterdam - Rotterdamsche Bank 2022 01.jpg, , later repurposed as a shopping center
File:Roofoverval bij Amro-bank, Beethovenstraat, Amsterdam, Bestanddeelnr 923-6862.jpg, Beethovenstraat branch in Amsterdam, 1970
History
As early as 1939, there had been plans to merge the two banks but the banks shelved these plans in anticipation of Dutch involvement in World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The two banks announced their merger on , and were integrated during the following year.
As soon as the AMRO Bank was set up, it set about gaining market share in business lending, leasing and factoring as well as in medium to long term credit. To do this it established the ''Nationale Bank voor Middellang Krediet'' business unit to provide medium to long term credit. It established or acquired companies such as ''Mahuko'' (Society for leasing) and ''Amstel Lease'' for its leasing
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...
business. The financing of factoring was brought together under the ''International Factors Nederland B.V.'', the oldest factoring company in the Netherlands.
In the 1960s and 1970s, like many other banking companies, AMRO saw growth in retail banking and this became a much bigger part of the business. Its wholesale banking was also strengthened by the acquisition of Pierson, Heldring & Pierson (PHP) in 1975. AMRO operated PHP as an independent unit under its existing name. Another acquisition was Utrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
based ''Bank Flaors & Ko'', which had been in existence since 1691. This bank was absorbed under the AMRO Bank brand.
In 1967, AMRO Bank was one of the founders of the consortium bank ''Banque Européenne de Crédit à Moyen Terme'' (European bank of long term credit) based in Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. The aim was create an entity that was large enough to work at an international level.
Soon after this, with their sights on European integration, AMRO Bank announced plans to collaborate with Belgian Generale Bank
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. M ...
with the aim of building a European international bank. However, this project was too ambitious and never managed to get off the ground.
It was only when the Dutch Government announced that it was relaxing its merger rules for financial institutions that ABN and AMRO Bank were able to seize the opportunity to merge and to create a bank large enough to fulfill these ambitions. On 24 August 1990, ABN AMRO was created by the conversion of the shares of both banks into shares of the newly established ''ABN AMRO Holding N.V.''
See also
*Rabobank
Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amro Bank Defunct banks of the Netherlands Banks established in 1964 ABN AMRO 1964 mergers and acquisitions Companies formerly listed on Euronext Amsterdam