Hollandsche Bank-Unie (HBU) was a second-tier domestic bank in theNetherlands thatDeutsche Bank absorbed in 2010. It had a notable international history.
| Industry | Financial services |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Hollandsche Bank voor de Middelandsche Zee  |
| Founded | 1914 |
| Defunct | 2010 |
| Fate | Absorbed byDeutsche Bank in 2010 |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam,Netherlands Buenos Aires Rio de Janeiro São Paulo Santiago Valparaíso Genoa Hamburg |
| Products | Commercial banking Investment banking Private banking Retail banking |
| Parent | Deutsche Bank |
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History
editEstablishment
editOn 28 March 1914, theRotterdamsche Bank, together with theNederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (NHM) and several smaller firms, established theHollandsche Bank voor Zuid-Amerika (Holland Bank for South-America). The bank opened inBuenos Aires under the nameBanco Holandés de la América del Sud (Banco Holandés). In 1916 the bank opened a second branch inRio de Janeiro, and in 1919 a branch inSão Paulo. By 1922, theHollandsche Bank voor Zuid-Amerika was running branches inGenoa,Hamburg,Buenos Aires,Rio de Janeiro,Santos,Santiago,São Paulo andValparaíso.
In 1918 theRotterdamsche Bank and the NHM, together with smaller shareholders such as theRoyal West India Mail/Royal Netherlands Steamship Company and the subsidiary ofShell that ran Curaçao's refinery, as well asBank of Suriname decided to create a similar bank for the West-Indies. TheHollandsche Bank voor West-Indië was established with head office inAmsterdam to operate branches inWillemstad,Curaçao. In 1920 this bank was the first European bank to open a branch inCaracas.
In 1919, a year after the founding ofHollandsche Bank voor West-Indië, theRotterdamsche Bank joined with theHollandsche Bank voor Zuid-Amerika to establish theHollandsche Bank voor de Middellandsche Zee (Holland bank for theMediterranean). It opened branches inGenoa,Barcelona,Marseille,Constantinople, and laterTel Aviv.
Development
editTheHollandsche Bank-Unie (HBU) was established in 1933 out of a merger between theHollandsche Bank voor Zuid-Amerika and theHollandsche Bank voor de Middellandsche Zee. It acquired theHollandsche Bank voor West-Indië in 1935. The HBU made further acquisitions,S. van Dantzig & Co in 1939, and's Gravenhaagsche Creditvereeniging en Depositkas in 1941.
Further branches were established inUruguay (1952) andBeirut (1954), so that by 1957, the HBU maintained branches in the Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Argentina, Brazil, Israel, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Suriname. The branch network was expanded further into Ecuador, and in 1965 intoParaguay. After the6-Day War in 1967 the branches in Israel were closed.
ABN Era
editTheAlgemene Bank Nederland acquired HBU in 1968, but it continued to operate HBU as a separate subsidiary under the HBU name. ABN decided to merge all its activities in theNetherlands Antilles under the nameAntilliaanse Bank Unie. This meant a merger of the HBU's Netherlands Antilles branches,Aruba Commercial Bank (est. 1949),Bonaire Commercial Bank (est. 1962), andEdwards, Henriques & Co. (est. 1856).
In 1972 ABN absorbed all of HBU's overseas branches. HBU's international history ended in 2001 whenABN AMRO sold the Ecuadorian operation it had inherited from the HBU toBanco del Pichincha (est. 1906). The HBU name continued as a small Netherlands domestic operation within ABN.
In 2007Fortis, which had obtained HBU in conjunction with its acquisition ofABN AMRO's operations in 2007, arranged its sale in 2009 toDeutsche Bank to comply withEU competition requirements. The Dutch government initially blocked the sale when the government took control of the Dutch parts of Fortis bank.[1] However, after further negotiations, the sale was finally approved and completed on 1 April 2010 for 700 million Euro. Deutsche Bank absorbed HBU and its activities; this ended the HBU name.
References
edit- ^"Dutch government sells part of ABN Amro to Deutsche Bank". NRC Handelsblad. 20 October 2009.