Senior staff to take over ABN Amro Craigs

Friday 27th February 2009

Royal Bank of Scotland is exiting its New Zealand sharebroking business ABN Amro Craigs.

ABN AMRO Craigs has reached agreement to buy back the 50% stake in the company held by Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS), thus making the broking firm fully New Zealand owned.

The firm will be owned by about 130 senior employees of ABN AMRO Craigs.

The Royal Bank of Scotland's announcement to exit its New Zealand business, operating under the ABN AMRO brand, will provide ABN AMRO Craigs with the opportunity to expand into wholesale services.

ABN AMRO Craigs intends to offer employment to certain existing ABN AMRO New Zealand staff. A number of those staff will become shareholders in ABN AMRO Craigs.

A new strategic alliance with RBS and ABN AMRO Craigs has been formed to ensure that ABN AMRO's current service offering of Australasian equities, Debt and Equity Capital Markets and Corporate Finance continues to wholesale clients, and the high level of investment management services and research continues to existing ABN AMRO Craigs clients.

"There will be no change to the operations of our business, the people leading the business or those advising our clients," chief executive Frank Aldridge says. "The staff only ownership structure simply allows us to control the direction we wish to lead the business in the future."

"The financial services industry is changing rapidly and this unique opportunity has presented itself from circumstances unrelated to our very strong business. The buy back and expansion into wholesale services will place us in an excellent position for future growth and take advantage of any opportunities as they arise," chairman Neil Craig says.

ABN Amro Craigs is country's largest NZX participant investment advisory firm with 17 branches, 110 investment advisers and $4.5 billion funds under management and administration. In this time we have expanded our staff shareholders.

The business will continue to trade as ABN AMRO Craigs, until a new corporate name is announced later in 2009.

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