Hollandsche Bank-Unie
Encyclopedia
Hollandsche Bank-Unie was a second-tier domestic bank in the Netherlands
which was absorbed by Deutsche Bank
in 2010, but one with a fascinating international history.
(NHM) and several smaller firms, established the Hollandsche Bank voor Zuid-Amerika (Holland Bank for South-America). The bank opened in Buenos Aires
under the name Banco Holandés de la América del Sud (Banco Holandés). In 1916 the bank opened a second branch in Rio de Janeiro
, and in 1919 a branch in São Paulo. By 1922, the Hollandsche Bank voor Zuid-Amerika was running branches in Genoa
, Hamburg
, Buenos Aires
, Rio de Janeiro
, Santos
, Santiago, São Paulo
and Valparaíso
.
In 1918 the Rotterdamsche Bank and the NHM, together with smaller shareholders such as the Royal West India Mail/Royal Netherlands Steamship Company and the subsidiary of Shell
which ran Curaçao's refinery, as well as the Bank of Suriname
decided to create a similar bank for the West-Indies. The Hollandsche Bank voor West-Indië was established with head office in Amsterdam
to operate branches in Willemstad
, Curaçao
. In 1920 this bank was the first European bank to open a branch in Caracas
.
In 1919, a year after the Hollandsche Bank voor West-Indië was founded, the Rotterdamsche Bank joined with the Hollandsche Bank voor Zuid-Amerika to establish the Hollandsche Bank voor de Middellandsche Zee (Holland bank of the Mediterranean). It opened branches in Genoa
, Barcelona
, Marseilles, Constantinople
, and later Tel Aviv
.
Further branches were established in Uruguay
(1952) and Beirut
(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 into Paraguay
. After the 6-Day War in 1967 the branches in Israel were closed.
acquired the HBU in 1968, but it continued to operate it as a separate subsidiary under the HBU name. ABN decided to merge all its activities in the Netherlands Antilles
under the name Antilliaanse Bank Unie. This meant a merger of the HBU's Netherlands Antilles branches, Aruba Commercial Bank (est. 1949), Bonaire Commercial Bank (est. 1962), and Edwards, Henriques & Co. (est. 1856).
In 1972 ABN absorbed all of HBU's overseas branches. HBU's international history ended in 2001 when ABN AMRO
sold the Ecuadorian operation it had inherited from the HBU to Banco del Pichincha
(est. 1906). The HBU name continued as a small Netherlands domestic operation within ABN.
In 2007 Fortis
, which had obtained HBU as part acquisition of the ABN AMRO
's operations in 2007, arranged its sale in 2009 to Deutsche Bank
to comply with EU competition requirements. The sale was initially blocked by the Dutch government when it took control of the Dutch parts of Fortis bank. 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 which ended the HBU name.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
which was absorbed by Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
in 2010, but one with a fascinating international history.
Establishment
On March 28, 1914, the Rotterdamsche Bank, together with the Nederlandsche Handel-MaatschappijNederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij
The Netherlands Trading Society was a Dutch trading company established in 1824 by King Willem I of the Netherlands to promote and develop trade, shipping and agriculture...
(NHM) and several smaller firms, established the Hollandsche Bank voor Zuid-Amerika (Holland Bank for South-America). The bank opened in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
under the name Banco Holandés de la América del Sud (Banco Holandés). In 1916 the bank opened a second branch in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, and in 1919 a branch in São Paulo. By 1922, the Hollandsche Bank voor Zuid-Amerika was running branches in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Santos
Santos (São Paulo)
-Sister cities: Shimonoseki, Japan Nagasaki, Japan Funchal, Portugal Trieste, Italy Coimbra, Portugal Ansião, Portugal Arouca, Portugal Ushuaia, Argentina Havana, Cuba Taizhou. China Ningbo. China Constanţa, Romania Ulsan, South Korea Colón, Panama* Cadiz, Spain...
, Santiago, São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
and Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
.
In 1918 the Rotterdamsche Bank and the NHM, together with smaller shareholders such as the Royal West India Mail/Royal Netherlands Steamship Company and the subsidiary of Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
which ran Curaçao's refinery, as well as the Bank of Suriname
De Surinaamsche Bank
De Surinaamsche Bank or DSB is one of the largest banks in Suriname.-History:*1865: Simon Abendanon founds De Surinaamsche Bank in Paramaribo...
decided to create a similar bank for the West-Indies. The Hollandsche Bank voor West-Indië was established with head office in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
to operate branches in Willemstad
Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles
Willemstad is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Formerly the capital of the Netherlands Antilles prior to its dissolution in 2010, it has an estimated population of 140,000. The historic centre of...
, Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. In 1920 this bank was the first European bank to open a branch in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
.
In 1919, a year after the Hollandsche Bank voor West-Indië was founded, the Rotterdamsche Bank joined with the Hollandsche Bank voor Zuid-Amerika to establish the Hollandsche Bank voor de Middellandsche Zee (Holland bank of the Mediterranean). It opened branches in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Marseilles, Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, and later Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
.
Development
The Hollandsche Bank-Unie (HBU) was established in 1933 out of a merger between the Hollandsche Bank voor Zuid-Amerika and the Hollandsche Bank voor de Middellandsche Zee. It acquired the Hollandsche Bank voor West-Indië in 1935. The HBU made further acquisitions, G. von Dantzig & co in 1939, and s Gravenhaagsche Creditvereeniging en Depositkas in 1941.Further branches were established in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
(1952) and Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
(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 into Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
. After the 6-Day War in 1967 the branches in Israel were closed.
ABN Era
The Algemene Bank NederlandAlgemene Bank Nederland
Algemene Bank Nederland was a Dutch bank that became one of the main predecessors in ABN AMRO. It was created in 1964 when the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij merged with De Twentsche Bank...
acquired the HBU in 1968, but it continued to operate it as a separate subsidiary under the HBU name. ABN decided to merge all its activities in the Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
under the name Antilliaanse Bank Unie. This meant a merger of the HBU's Netherlands Antilles branches, Aruba Commercial Bank (est. 1949), Bonaire Commercial Bank (est. 1962), and Edwards, Henriques & Co. (est. 1856).
In 1972 ABN absorbed all of HBU's overseas branches. HBU's international history ended in 2001 when ABN AMRO
ABN AMRO
ABN AMRO Bank N.V. is a Dutch state-owned bank with headquarters in Amsterdam. It was re-established, in its current form, in 2009 following the acquisition and break up of ABN AMRO Group by a banking consortium consisting of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Santander and Fortis...
sold the Ecuadorian operation it had inherited from the HBU to Banco del Pichincha
Banco del Pichincha
The Banco del Pichincha is the largest private bank in Ecuador, by capitalization and by number of depositors. It is the primary bank of the Pichincha Group , a business group that includes the companies associated with the bank and businesses related to Fidel Egas Grijalva and his family, which...
(est. 1906). The HBU name continued as a small Netherlands domestic operation within ABN.
In 2007 Fortis
Fortis (finance)
Fortis N.V./S.A. was a company active in insurance, banking and investment management. In 2007 it was the 20th largest business in the world by revenue but after encountering severe problems in the financial crisis of 2008, most of the company was sold in parts, with only insurance activities...
, which had obtained HBU as part acquisition of the ABN AMRO
ABN AMRO
ABN AMRO Bank N.V. is a Dutch state-owned bank with headquarters in Amsterdam. It was re-established, in its current form, in 2009 following the acquisition and break up of ABN AMRO Group by a banking consortium consisting of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Santander and Fortis...
's operations in 2007, arranged its sale in 2009 to Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
to comply with EU competition requirements. The sale was initially blocked by the Dutch government when it took control of the Dutch parts of Fortis bank. 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 which ended the HBU name.