ABN Shuffles I-Bank Management
Buyout still needs regulatory approval.
February 27, 2008
ABN AMRO has modified manager responsibilities in its investment banking business ahead of its takeover by Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis and Santander, a spokeswoman for the Dutch banking giant confirmed to IDD.
The appointments will become effective when the buyout (selected as IDD's 2007 M&A and FIG Deal of the Year) is completed, said the London-based spokeswoman. The three consortium members are splitting up ABN's assets, with RBS getting the investment banking platform. When RBS acquires the business, it will be become part of RBS' Global Banking & Markets (GBM) group.
"For the time being, there is no change to the existing organizational structure, reporting lines or responsibilities of either RBS GBM or ABN AMRO management for their respective ongoing businesses," said the spokeswoman. "However, alongside their normal line responsibilities, the team will also immediately begin to develop an integration plan for their business areas or countries."
The spokeswoman said ABN made the following appointments:
- Jan de Ruiter, currently global head of equity capital markets and M&A advisory, will become country head for the Netherlands.
- Tom Willett, head of UK M&A and co-head of European M&A, will become global head of M&A.
- Simon Hargreaves, co-head of European M&A, will become head of M&A for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
- Rutger van Nouhuys, the third co-head of European M&A, will become regional sector head of retail and consumer banking for Western Europe.
Willett, de Ruiter and van Nouhuys will report to Alexandra Cook, RBS head of global banking and markets for Western Europe.
Hargreaves will report to Michiel de Jong, RBS head of global banking and markets for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, on a regional level, and to Willett on M&A matters.
The deal has not yet received approval from regulators, including Die Nederlandsche Bank (the Dutch central bank) and the Financial Services Authority in the UK.
Meanwhile, ABN made headlines yesterday when it announced it would close all portfolio investment accounts held by US passport holders within 30 days for "strategic reasons." An ABN spokesman in Amsterdam told the New York Times that US passport holders could maintain their savings and checking accounts with the bank.
For more information on related topics, visit the following:
