ABN AMRO and transparency
- Sustainability
ABN AMRO considers transparency in the banking sector to be very important and we value open and constructive dialogues with NGOs. It’s important that we do this in close consultation and that no impossible requests are made.
On 7 November, the Dutch Fair Bank Guide (FBG) published its own research on transparency at banks. The FBG’s review is oversimplified: things are right or wrong, black or white. Unfortunately, reality is a bit more complex than that.
For example, the FBG would like banks to make the names of their clients public. Not only is this impossible from an administrative point of view (you would need to ask 400,000 clients individually for their permission), but you would also run into a legal issues. Plus which, we guarantee our clients’ privacy, so ABN AMRO would never draw up such a list. That’s why we always score poorly on this topic in the FBG’s survey.
The fact that we don’t always meet the requirements on transparency set and created by the FBG doesn’t mean we are not transparent.
We would be in favour of having a dialogue with the FBG about material things to see where we can improve further, rather than being judgemental towards each other and losing sight of reality.
Examples
The FBG does not consider ABN AMRO to be (sufficiently) transparent on certain topics. We don’t always agree with this.
ABN AMRO is transparent about the sectors and activities we don’t invest in. We have specific policies on investing in sensitive sectors. These policies are explained thoroughly onour website. All of our granted loans comply with our guidelines and our Exclusion List.
We report according to international guidelines (GRI), and we report on how many companies we engage with per sector.
We do not trade and invest for our own account and only invest on behalf of our clients and at their instruction. We’re also transparent about our activities in tax-friendly countries.
Transparency is a very important theme for ABN AMRO, not just in our reports. Clients need to understand what they’re buying and what they get in return. That’s why our services are clear and understandable:
We have rewritten our product terms & conditions and brochures at a level of language proficiency that 90 percent of Dutch people can clearly understand (language level B1)·
We’ve made our product range clear and accessible: for example, we’ve downsized from 20 savings products to only three.
Our private bank, ABN AMRO MeesPierson, has spoken to all its clients individually about the ban on commissions for investment advice and products.
You can contact ABN AMRO 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone, email and through social media to ask questions or to submit a complaint.
Improving transparency is an ongoing process, and we’re working to improve it every day.