“When ABN Amro was taken over and broken up by Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Fortis back in 2007, it was a wrench for the Netherlands – the country’s biggest bank was to be gutted and a proud brand killed off.”

“But it has not turned out that way. The first phase of the financial crisis quickly upended both RBS and Fortis with that latter’s Dutch assets, largely the result of that ABN deal, swiftly nationalised.”

“Fast forward three years and the ABN name – barely heard of outside the Dutch market since the takeover – is re-emerging as the bank plans a dramatic expansion of its international presence in energy, commodities and transportation, as well as in private banking and clearing.”

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