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last update: Jul 20, 2010
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ABN AMRO - Netherlands
basics
policies
practice
image
key facts
headquarters
Gustav Mahlerlaan 10
1082 PP Amsterdam
Netherlands
total assets
€ 470 billion (2009)
key regions of operation
Netherlands
supervisor
De Nederlandsche Bank
CEO/chair
Gerrit Zalm
CEO
number of employees
The ABN AMRO businesses that are currently owned by the Dutch State employ 23,000 people
ownership

 

ABN AMRO is owned by RFS Holdings B.V., a consortium consisting of Royal Bank of Scotland, Banco Santander and the Dutch State. The aim is to split the bank’s assets among the consortium members. Some parts have already transferred to their new owner. Within ABN AMRO, the Dutch State owns the business units ABN AMRO Netherlands and ABN AMRO Private Clients. Legal separation of these entities from the parent company is scheduled for mid 2010. After separation, these entities are to merge these with Fortis Bank Nederland, which is also owned by the Dutch State. The merger is dependent on the approval by EU and national regulators. 

 

about ABN AMRO

As of July 1 2010, Fortis Bank Nederland and ABN Amro are legally merged and operating as a single bank under the name 'ABN Amro'. The name 'Fortis Bank Nederland will disappear before the end of 2010.

ABN AMRO is a fully state owned Dutch bank after it saw a break up of the bank in 2007 when it was bought by the consortium of Fortis, RBS and Santander and subsequently split up.

This profile is based upon the -ever changing- situation that the ABN AMRO businesses acquired by the Dutch State find themselves in. Policies listed on this profile, as well as the scoring, are those of the bank prior to the take-over of the bank and may not be re-adopted in their current format by the new bank.

bank feedback:
On 17 October 2007, ABN AMRO Holding N.V. was acquired through RFS Holdings B.V., a consortium consisting of Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis and Banco Santander. In April 2008 ABN AMRO was delisted from Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange, and a ‘squeeze out’ procedure to buy out minority shareholders was completed in September 2008, after which RFS Holdings B.V. became the sole shareholder of ABN AMRO. In October 2008, the Dutch State acquired all Fortis businesses in the Netherlands, both Fortis’s share in ABN AMRO and Fortis Bank Nederland; in December 2009, the Dutch State became a direct shareholder of RFS Holdings B.V.. The Dutch State later announced that the ABN AMRO businesses it acquired would merge with Fortis Bank Nederland into a new bank that would retain the ABN AMRO name and brand.

last save by banker:
never
voluntary standards and commitments
Carbon Disclosure Project
The CDP impels organisations to record their carbon footprint in daily activities. Encouraging enterprises to calculate and disclose their carbon impact, this initiative highlights the challenge for financial institutions to determine exactly how much carbon output can be attributed to financing.
Carbon Principles
Set of guidelines for banks and their U.S. power clients to evaluate and address carbon risks in the financing of electric power projects.
Climate Principles
Voluntary framework to guide the finance sector in tackling the challenge of climate change. They address the management of operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and provide direction on managing climate change in research activities; asset management; retail banking; insurance & re-insurance; corporate banking; investment banking & markets; project finance.
Equator Principles
The EPs are a set of guidelines, based upon the Performance Standards and guidelines from the IFC, the World Bank's private sector lending arm for private banks to asesses and mitigate risks in project finance. Banks use the Principles to guide internal operating procedures for transaction for specific projects. Although the EPs are an important step to raise overall standards of financiers and projects in the developing world, they currently fall short on transparency and governance requirements.
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
The verification and full publication of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining is supported by the EITI. Financial institutions can participate and encourage resource-rich countries to support the initiative that aims to defeat poverty, corruption and conflict caused by weak transparency and accountability.
Global Reporting Initiative
As the name suggests, the GRI aims to standardise good practice in transparency. GRI provides companies with guidelines to organise their annual report with reporting indices and standards addressing environmental, social and economic issues that business ought to address when telling the world about its performance.
UN Global Compact
The UN Global Compact is a set of ten principles that companies may sign voluntarily. Signatories promise to avoid complicity in human rights violations, adhere to labour standards, protect the environment and avoid corruption. The G8 countries urge companies to participate in this initiative, and with over 2900 companies signing up, the Global Compact has momentum. A voluntary and network based framework, the Global Compact actively promotes peer review and stakeholder participation.
UNEP Finance Initiative
UNEP is the 'voice of the environment' for the United Nations system, promoting international cooperation in the field of the environment. Issues concerning the financial community are addressed by the UNEP Finance Initiative which promotes investment in clean and renewable energy by financial institutions and other investors. Financial insititutions wishing to join must sign one of two Statements (for financial institutions and a separate one for the insurance industry).
UNEP Principles for Responsible Investments
UNPRI is a set of six principles direct institutional investors may adopt to consider environmental, social and corporate governance issues when investing. Voluntary and aspirational in nature, UNPRI has since its inception in 2006 attracted 200 signatories, representing US$8 trillion worth of investments.
Wolfsberg principles
Since the turn of the century a group of twelve banks known as the Wolfsberg Group have collaborated to improve ethical standards. The principles provide guidance on money laundering, corruption and the financing of terrorism. They have been produced to address deficiencies in areas 'yet to be fully articulated by lawmakers or regulators'.
2010 sector and issue policies

ABN Amro has developed a series of policies and statements covering almost all sectors and issues of this research. However, the bank has not disclosed its policies to the public, but placed short summaries on its Dutch website. Where applicable they are accredited points.

ABN Amro is currently merging with Fortis Bank Nederland. The scores below are based on the situation at ABN Amro as it is right now. We will reconsider the scores after the integration of both banks, in July 2010.

agriculture
0
arms industry and trade
1
fisheries
0
forestry
1
mining
1
oil and gas
1
power generation
1
biodiversity
1
climate change
1
corruption
1
human rights
2
indigenous peoples
1
labour
2
operation in conflict zones
0
taxation
0
toxics
1
accountability
0
transparency
2
additional information

Most international corporate banking business was acquired by RBS and, to a lesser extent, Santander. The sustainability policies of ABN Amro from before the break-up of the bank are still in place. Find summaries of these policies here.

ABN Amro was one of the banks that initiated the Equator Principles, but is at the moment no longer listed as such because ABN Amro has no project finance anymore. this will possibly change after the integration with Fortis Bank Nederland in July 2010. The bank is equally delisted from UNEP Finance Initiative and Principles for Responsible Investment. 

You can read more about this here.

 

dodgy deals

Most of the international project finance business of ABN AMRO has been transferred to RBS. So has ABN Amro's involvement. The engagement of ABN Amro in Ccluster Munitions producers and the Rapu Rapu Copper Mine has been ended.