Our history

ABN AMRO

On 22 September 1991, ABN Bank and Amro Bank joined forces to become ABN AMRO. Rob Hazelhoff and Roelof Nelissen signed the merger contract of the two banks. The reasons for signing it were the bundling of forces and the increase in scale abroad. In 1999, the head office moved to Gustav Mahlerlaan in Amsterdam. Henry Cobb, a well-known US architect, designed the building.

Algemene Bank Nederland (ABN)

In 1964, the Netherlands Trading Society (Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij) and Twentsche Bank merged into Algemene Bank Nederland, or ABN. The foreign network of the former and the domestic network of the latter complemented each other well. In the seventies, ABN gained more clients outside Europe. In 1979, ABN bought the US LaSalle National Bank. André Batenburg oversaw this acquisition and was the chair of the board from 1974 to 1985.

Amsterdam-Rotterdam Bank (Amro Bank)

After the Second World War, Jan van den Brink helped rebuild the Netherlands in his role as Minister of Economic Affairs. In 1952, he became a director of Amsterdamsche Bank. Twelve years later, Amsterdamsche Bank and Rotterdamsche Bank merged to become Amro Bank. Van den Brink was a member of the Executive Board until 1978.

Amsterdamsche Bank

Between 1926 and 1932, Amsterdamsche Bank built a new office. H.P. Berlage was the architect who designed the building. Frits van Nierop led the bank for almost 50 years, from 1871 to 1920. In 1948, the bank took over Incasso-Bank, resulting in more branches. Amsterdamsche Bank and Rotterdamsche Bank merged in 1964 to become Amro Bank.

Fortis Bank Nederland

In 1990, AMEV/VSB from the Netherlands and AG from Belgium merged into Fortis. In 1995, Fortis moved into a new office in Utrecht, designed by Van Mourik Vermeulen. A predecessor of Fortis had been the sponsor of the Rotterdam Marathon. ABN AMRO absorbed Fortis Bank in 2010.

Hope & Co.

Hope & Co was an important banking company in Amsterdam. Around 1800, it was one of the world's most prominent banks, lending money to countries like France and Russia. Research shows it also made money from colonial trade and practices related to slavery.

Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (NHM)

The Netherlands Trading Society (NHM) was founded by King William I. It served an important function as a trading company in the former Dutch East Indies, especially on behalf of the Dutch government. From 1880, NHM also began offering banking services, after which, it increasingly became a real bank. The bank’s Indonesian business was taken over by the Indonesian Republic around 1960. By then, NHM was also active in China, Japan, Singapore and other parts of Asia. In 1964, NHM merged with Twentsche Bank to form ABN Bank.

Nederlandse Overzee Bank (NOB)

NOB was founded in 1954 by a collaboration between two banks, one from South Africa and one from the Netherlands, both established in 1888. NOB used a ship as its logo to show that it engaged in maritime trade.

Pierson, Heldring & Pierson

The Amsterdam company Pierson & Co. used to trade in shares and bonds of US rail companies. As a result, the bank and the family were also known outside the Netherlands. For example, a station in Canada was named Pierson. Heldring & Pierson, a firm from The Hague, mainly had securities clients in what later became Indonesia. In1958, the two companies continued as Pierson Heldring & Pierson.

R. Mees & Zoonen

This company was established in Rotterdam in the 18th century, offering cashier and insurance brokerage services. In the 19th century, it became a bank. In 1975, Mees merged with the Amsterdam company Hope & Co. This is how Bank Mees & Hope came to be. Later, it became MeesPierson. According to research, the company made moneyfrom colonial trade and practices related to slavery.

Rotterdamsche Bank

The bank was first located at Boompjes in Rotterdam, and later at Coolsingel. Willem Westerman led the bank until 1924. During his time at the helm, the bank took over various other banks. This led to a wave of acquisitions in the banking world. The bank established the Vrouwenbank (Women’s bank) in 1928. This was a separate bank thatguided women into economic independence. The Vrouwenbank closed in 1971.

Slavenburgs Bank

This bank was established in 1925. In 1983, the bank was renamed: Credit Lyonnais Bank Nederland. That same year, NCB Bank started its Direktbank. For the first time, customers could arrange their money matters by telephone. In 1987, CLBN acquired NCB Bank. In 1992, construction of a new office commenced in Rotterdam. The wellknown German architect Helmut Jahn designed the building. Princess Margriet opened the building in 1996.

Twentsche Bank

Twentsche Bank was located on Spuistraat in Amsterdam. It focused on the textile industry in the Dutch region of Twente. For a long time, the founding family Blijdenstein was in charge. In 1917, the bank became a limited liability company with shareholders. The bank introduced the Personal Loan in the Netherlands in 1958, giving more peopleaccess to banking services.

Verenigde Spaarbank (VSB)

The first savings banks in the Netherlands were established around 1820. All towns and villages had savings bank branches. Their purpose was to help ordinary people save up. In the 20th century, these savings banks also started getting business customers. In those days, savings banks were increasingly collaborating and merging. This is how the Verenigde Spaarbank, or VSB, was founded in 1983. The VSB was later absorbed by Fortis.

Access to the ABN AMRO archives

Once archiving has taken place, records are transferred to the appropriate public depository. The archives of the following predecessors have already been deposited elsewhere:

• Firma Hope & Co. and Spaarbank voor de Stad Amsterdam at Stadsarchief Amsterdam;

• Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij, Nederlandsch-Indische Handelsbank, Amsterdamsche Bank and Rotterdamsche Bank at Nationaal Archief in The Hague;

• Firma R. Mees & Zoonen at Stadsarchief Rotterdam;

• Twentsche Bank at Historisch Centrum Overijssel in Zwolle.

These archives have been deposited on a permanent loan basis and are freely accessible, barring some restrictions for reasons of confidentiality. Archives of other smaller predecessors can be consulted at other public depositories.

The more recent archives are stored in the ABN AMRO Archives of the Art & Heritage Department. Access to the archives, or parts thereof, can be granted for the purpose of historical research in consultation with the relevant department.

The darker side of our bank’s history

ABN AMRO has a rich and varied history going back more than 300 years, marked by acquisitions, mergers and demergers. There is much in its past for the bank to take pride in, but there is a darker side to it as well.

Research of involment of predecessors in slavery

The International Institute of Social History (IISH) in Amsterdam was commissioned by ABN AMRO to research the involvement of the bank’s predecessors in slavery in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The study showed that some of its predecessors were involved intensively and over a long period of time in activities related to slavery. They financed slave plantations, traded in slavery-related products such as coffee, sugar and wood used for making paints, or brokered insurance for slave ships.

In video below, former CEO Robert Swaak, company historian Jaap Jan Mobron and others talk about the darker side of the bank’s past and about how ABN AMRO is promoting equal opportunities today.

Apologies and recognition of the untold suffering

In 2022, ABN AMRO apologised or the actions and activities of its predecessors and for the pain they caused in the past. It is recognition of the untold suffering at the time and the negative impacts suffered by the descendants of enslaved persons to this very day.

With a purpose – Banking for better, for generations to come – rooted in social engagement, ABN AMRO has been promoting equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion for years, both within the bank and in society in general. We leverage our expertise to help tackle social issues, for example through our Social Point programme, ABN AMRO Foundation and our sponsorships, but also through our services and our role as an employer.