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.
In 2025, we started a local Corporate Finance offering in order to support our clients at every stage of their business.
Photo: Kris Dewinter, Head of Corporate Finance ABN AMRO Belgium
The launch of our Enterprise & Entrepreneur proposition combined the strengths and knowledge of Corporate Banking and Private Banking. This allowed us to serve our clients better and faster, with the bank's employees acting as a specialist team to meet our clients' business and private needs.
In early 2019, the acquisition of Société Générale Private Banking Belgium constituted an important milestone in the growth path of ABN AMRO Private Banking in Belgium. We combined the activities of Société Générale’s private banking subsidiary in Belgium with our existing private banking activities to strengthen our market position in Belgium and our position as a leading private bank in the eurozone.
After ABN AMRO’s business division in Belgium was acquired by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in 2008, the business banking operations successfully restarted in 2017.
Photo: Yannick Huygens, Head of Corporate Banking ABN AMRO Belgium
ABN AMRO strengthened its private banking activities in Belgium by acquiring Bank Corluy.
Investment bank De Maertelaere, which originated in Ghent, was acquired by French bank Société Générale in 2001. The financial institution renamed itself SG Bank De Maertelare (SGBDM) after the merger and in 2006 this became Société Générale Private Banking in Belgium.
Rob Hazelhoff (ABN) and Roelof Nelissen (Amro) signed the ABN AMRO merger contract on 21 September 1991. This led to the creation of what was the largest bank in the Netherlands, the sixth largest in Europe and the sixteenth largest in the world at the time.
In 1984, Internationale Handels-en Diamantbank was renamed Algemene Bank Nederland (Belgium) 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 1972, the name Amsterdamsche Bank was changed to AMRO Bank voor België N.V.
On 1 December 1960, Internationale Handels- en Diamantbank was founded on Pelikaanstraat in Antwerp as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij N.V.
In 1984, the name was changed to Algemene Bank Nederland (België) N.V. (ABN).
On 23 June 1937, Amsterdamsch Diamantkantoor S.A. was founded in Belgium as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amsterdamsche Bank N.V.
In 1965, Amsterdamsche Bank became part of the newly merged Amsterdam Rotterdam Bank N.V. (AMRO).
The Ghent-based securities broker De Maertelaere was founded in 1927. In 2001, Société Générale acquired Bank De Maertelaere. Following the acquisition of Société Générale Private Banking Belgium by ABN AMRO in 2019, Bank De Maertelaere also became part of our rich history.
Bank Corluy was founded in 1919. ABN AMRO acquired this Belgian bank in 2005 to strengthen its position in the Private Banking market.
