ABN AMRO Bank has filed documentation with the Amsterdam chamber of commerce for a legal demerger in Netherlands and in Belgium. The demerger proposals outline the legal process for the transfer of the majority of the Dutch State acquired businesses into a separate legal entity, which will remain wholly owned by ABN AMRO Holding, until it is legally transferred out of ABN AMRO Group.
Reportedly, ABN AMRO Group has chosen a two-step approach to effect the legal separation of the assets and liabilities acquired by the Dutch State:
‘Legal Demerger’: transferring the majority of the Dutch State acquired businesses from ABN AMRO Bank to a new legal entity, ABN AMRO II. Some subsidiaries and assets and liabilities are separately transferred to the new legal entity, mostly before the planned legal demerger date. Following the demergers and the transfer of the Dutch State acquired businesses into the new bank, the existing ABN AMRO Bank will be renamed The Royal Bank of Scotland. The new legal entity comprising the Dutch State acquired businesses will then be renamed ABN AMRO Bank.
‘Legal Separation’: transferring the shares of the renamed ABN AMRO Bank from ABN AMRO Holding to a new holding company fully owned by the Dutch State and independent of ABN AMRO Holding (which will be renamed RBS Holdings).
According to the bank, until legal separation, ABN AMRO Group will continue to be governed by the ABN AMRO Holding managing board and supervisory board and regulated on a consolidated basis with capital adequacy, liquidity measures and exposures being reported to and regulated by the Dutch Central Bank. ABN AMRO capital ratios continue to exceed the minimum tier 1 and total capital ratios of 9% and 12.5% respectively (as set by the Dutch Central Bank during the separation period of ABN AMRO Group).
