Our history in Belgium
While our Dutch roots go back 300 years, in Belgium ABN AMRO's history started more recently. In 1937, Amsterdamsche Bank established a branch in Antwerp for the diamond industry.
In 1960, Internationale Handels- en Diamantbank was founded on Pelikaanstraat in Antwerp as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij N.V.
In 1984, Internationale Handels-en Diamantbank was renamed Algemene Bank Nederland (België) N.V. In the same year, the diamond financing operations of AMRO Bank voor België were phased out and AMRO Bank established a new Belgian branch for Private and Corporate Banking.
In 2005, ABN AMRO acquired Bank Corluy, whose history goes back even further back (1919). In 2018, ABN AMRO acquired Société Générale Private Banking Belgium, the bank which had acquired Bank De Maertelaere in 2001.
Its recent years have been characterised by growth thanks to the expansion of Corporate Banking and more recently a local Corporate Finance offering.
ABN AMRO Belgium is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
Our timeline
Repositioning the private bank and establishing a local corporate finance division
2025
In Belgium, ABN AMRO Private Banking now operates as ABN AMRO MeesPierson. As well as aligning our Belgian operation’s private banking business with the strong brand in the Netherlands, this underlines our increased focus on entrepreneurial Belgians. With this repositioning, we are emphasising our long-term vision for private banking. We act not simply as an asset manager, but as a dedicated advisory partner at key moments in the lives of wealthy individuals, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial families.
The recent creation of a local corporate finance division illustrates this. Our services were previously directed primarily at large companies with revenues in excess of €100 million; we are now explicitly making them available to SMEs and family businesses.
