ABN Amro Bank has completed legal merger with Fortis Bank Nederland, and is now operating as a single bank under the name of ABN Amro Bank.
As a result of the merger, the Fortis Bank Nederland name will disappear. The Fortis Bank Nederland offices will be converted to the ABN Amro house style, while the ABN Amro logo will be added to Fortis cards, account statements and products in phases.
According to ABN Amro, these activities will start once the Fortis Bank Nederland client data have been migrated to the ABN Amro systems. Technical migration of the 1.6 million retail clients will start this summer, followed by the private banking and commercial clients of Fortis Bank Nederland. The two banks’ products and conditions will also be harmonized.
The new bank, operating under the name of ABN Amro Bank, has 6.8 million clients, 30,000 employees, 500 branches in the Netherlands, 78 commercial client branches, 68 private banking branches (including 47 outside the Netherlands) and its own international network in 27 countries.
Gerrit Zalm, chairman of ABN Amro Bank, said: “From July 1, the legal merger will be a reality, and ABN Amro and Fortis Bank Nederland are a single bank. I am aware that the path we have had to travel to reach this point has been challenging and far from easy.
“Although the actual moment of the merger will be a happy occasion, integrating the two organizations will not be a wholly enjoyable process as we will unfortunately have to bid farewell to colleagues for whom there is no place in the new organization. This is a process in which happiness, uncertainty and sadness will go hand in hand. Essentially, we are bringing an eventful period to a close and at the same time giving the starting signal for a new phase of challenges.”