ABN Amro says cannot verify authenticity of 'rebellious managers' letter
Reuters
Published Nov 19, 2018 03:48AM ET
ABN Amro says cannot verify authenticity of 'rebellious managers' letter
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - ABN Amro (AS:ABNd) said on Monday it could not verify the authenticity of a letter sent to its chairman by people claiming to be a group of 40 managers at the Dutch bank dissatisfied with its current leadership and direction.
The FD newspaper, which also received a copy of the letter, published sections in which the authors ask for "whistleblower status" to air their grievances, which also include "integrity" concerns.
ABN said in its response that the bank wasn't sure the letter was actually written by employees and it was not clear why they would communicate by anonymous group letter rather than the bank's internal communications, which include whistleblower protections.
Former ABN chairwoman Olga Zoutendijk was forced out nine months ago over differences about her "leadership style".
Zoutendijk, an outsider hired from Standard Chartered (LON:STAN), pushed for the early departure of former CEO Gerrit Zalm, a former finance minister deeply embedded within the country's ruling elite.
The Dutch government retains a 56 percent stake in ABN after its nationalization during the 2008 financial crisis.
Zalm left a year before his term expired in 2017, followed by Zoutendijk herself.
New CEO Kees van Dijkhuizen was promoted from CFO and said that calm had been restored.
According to the FD report, the managers are concerned about the bank's lack of vision.
Zoutendijk had pushed for ABN's investment banking arm to do more business abroad, but in the letter managers complain those plans have been rolled back under Van Dijkhuizen and new chairman Tom de Swaan, a former member of the country's central bank.
ABN's current strategic vision is to remain a profitable Dutch-focused bank and to grow its private banking business in Northwest Europe.
This month ABN reported a third quarter net profit of 725 million euros ($830 million), up from 673 million a year earlier.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.