ABN Amro Sells Onshore Banking Operations In Netherlands Antilles, Aruba To RBTT Group

Lisa Ugur, Tax-news.com, London

08 March 2001

Leading Caribbean financial services group RBTT Financial Holdings Ltd (RBTT) has signed a letter of intent to acquire the onshore banking activities of Dutch banking giant ABN Amro in Curaçao, and all branches of ABN Amro in Bonaire, St Maarten and Aruba. RBTT will acquire the onshore activities via its subsidiaries ABC Curaçao NV (ABC) and First National Bank of Aruba NV (FNB). ABN Amro will continue to offer its clients offshore services from Curaçao via ABN Amro Trust NV and ABN Amro Asset Management NV.

Once the deal completes, RBTT will in the Netherlands Antilles merge the onshore operations of ABN Amro Netherlands Antilles and ABC and continue the combined business under the name RBTT Bank Antilles NV. A statement from ABN Amro said that to ensure a gradual transition, it will hold a minority stake in ABC for a period of up to a maximum of three years. ABC now provides a full range of commercial and international banking services in the Netherlands Antilles.

Similarly, in Aruba, RBTT will merge the banking activities of ABN Amro Aruba and FNB and continue the combined business under the name RBTT Bank Aruba NV. FNB also provides commercial and international banking services through four branches including its headquarters in Aruba. The company has two operating subsidiaries, Aruba Trustkantoor NV, a brokerage and property management entity, and Banco Nacional de Hipotecas NV, a licensed mortgage bank. ABN Amro currently has 3 branches in Aruba, employs 126 employees and caters to corporate clients as well as private individuals.

RBTT Group has 8 commercial banks with 50 branches located in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St Lucia, St. Vincent, Bequia (in the Grenadines), Nevis, Antigua, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, St Maarten, Saba and Suriname.

Commenting on the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval and due diligence by RBTT, Hans Advocaat, Regional Manager for ABN Amro Netherlands Antilles, Suriname and Aruba, said: 'This strategic step is in line with the global restructuring process ABN Amro is currently undertaking to increase shareholder value.'

Group Chairman of RBTT, Peter July, said that the agreement with ABN Amro will enable RBTT to achieve its objective of increasing its market position in Aruba and in the Netherlands Antilles, and fits with the group's strategic goal to be the first choice financial services provider for clients in the region. He added that the bank was committed to ensuring that it would continue offering a comprehensive range of products for both its corporate and private clients.

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