ABN AMRO CEO hopes to reduce interest in Dutch State | Financial

The government still has an interest of more than 56 percent in ABN AMRO as a result of the nationalization of the Dutch parts of Fortis and ABN AMRO in 2008. Van Dijkhuizen, who was also asked about the issue in Davos last year, emphasized that it it is not for the bank to decide on the phasing out of the state interest. That decision lies with NLFI, the foundation that manages the State’s holdings in financial institutions.

Recently, Minister of Finance Wopke Hoekstra did not want to comment on how long the government will remain a major shareholder in the bank. That was shortly after ABN AMRO announced that Robert Swaak is the intended successor to Van Dijkhuizen. Hoekstra reiterated that, as agreed in the coalition agreement, the Cabinet wants to get rid of the remaining interest “as quickly as possible.”

Van Dijkhuizen also raised the issue of money laundering and other black money issues in Davos, which several banks in Europe are dealing with. He expects the sector to resolve the issue completely within three years, partly through the use of new technologies and better cooperation between financial institutions and regulators.

Van Dijkhuizen will be succeeded by Swaak at the end of April. According to market experts, the choice of ABN AMRO for the relatively unknown new CEO is a good one. The new CEO will also not be bored in view of the ongoing investigation into money laundering practices within the bank.

Earlier it was revealed that Rabobank’s customer audits are often not good enough. Earlier, ING was fined EUR 775 million for the issue.