ABN Amro is making an acquisition in the Netherlands for the first time since nationalization fifteen years ago. The bank, which is still almost half state-owned, took over Bux. ABN Amro hopes to attract more young customers with this investor platform.
ABN Amro will attract half a million customers, mostly young people, in eight countries through Bux. These are Belgium, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain and Ireland, as well as the Netherlands. According to ABN Amro, the acquisition aligns with its desire to continue growing in Europe.
Bux’s takeover comes shortly after the government’s reduction of its stake in ABN Amro stalled for nearly six years. It was announced that Finance Minister Kaag, who left office in September, reduced the state share to 49.5 percent. Two weeks ago, it said it would sell more shares in the coming months until the stake reached 40 percent.
cryptocurrencies
Annerie Vreugdenhil, head of privateers, says Bux offers something ABN Amro does not have: “This is a fast-growing investment platform where young clients are learning to invest. “They understand this target group better than we do.” But we can also help these clients with more complex investment questions as they get older. Therefore, they complement each other very well.”
At Bux, which was founded in 2014, customers can invest and save not only in funds but also in cryptocurrencies. Bux recently increased the savings interest rate to 2.75 percent. The company is not making a profit. Last year it fell into the red by almost 16 million euros.
It was not disclosed how much ABN Amro will pay for Bux. The acquisition still needs to be approved by regulators.
Employment opportunities
Since its nationalization in 2008, ABN Amro has mostly been busy selling or even shutting down parts that do not fit the new bank. For example, three years ago, all of the department’s offices outside Europe were closed.
The private bank, with a European branch geared only to wealthy clients, made several acquisitions during the government’s years. Customers were acquired from Société Generale in Belgium and Credit Suisse in Germany.
Two years ago it was leaked that Goldman Sachs had been hired by ABN Amro to look for interesting takeover opportunities in Europe. After years of decline, ABN Amro wanted to see if growth was possible again. However, it was never clear whether the American bank created a list.
It was revealed last summer that French bank BNP Paribas unsuccessfully asked The Hague if it could buy ABN Amro.
Source: NOS
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
