ABN AMRO and Alfred Berg Conference highlights the importance of international markets

ABN AMRO and Alfred Berg Conference highlights the importance of international markets Leading Nordic investment bank Alfred Berg and its international parent ABN AMRO today held a day long business conference for over 400 leading Nordic business leaders to discuss some of the most important business and financial market issues facing companies and institutions in the Nordic and wider European markets. The conference, held in Stockholm, looked at two of the major issues confronting European companies and financial institutions, namely the impacts of Basel II and Pensions. The conference was organised to share with clients Alfred Berg's re-branding and adoption of the ABN AMRO shield. Speaking at the conference ABN AMRO Managing Board Member Hugh Scott- Barrett said that the decision to unite the different parts of the ABN AMRO group under one shield was announced by the Bank in February this year. "The aim of our re-branding is to bring together the group's strong local brands like Alfred Berg, with the breadth and expertise of the ABN AMRO group. By combining together under one shield we are telling the market that while we are made up of many parts, we share identical corporate values and business principles." "Alfred Berg has a history of excellence in investment banking in the Nordic market. We have kept the Alfred Berg names because we wanted to recognise its heritage and make sure that we did not lose this important connection with the Nordic market" Mr Scott- Barrett said. As an active participant in the financial markets of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, Alfred Berg has extensive experience and expertise in wholesale banking and asset management. By leveraging ABN AMRO's financial strength and strong international network, Alfred Berg delivers a unique combination of Nordic power and global reach, providing its clients with a wide range of services, such as: · Equity research and stock broking services · Corporate finance and financial advisory services · Asset management · Fixed income services · Working Capital CEO of Alfred Berg, Robin Ahlström said that the re-branding would increase the visibility of the ABN AMRO Group and the benefits that it can bring to Alfred Berg's clients. "This re-branding ensures we keep our strong local identity through Alfred Berg but allows us to combine it with the breadth and expertise of our international parent, a bank with 105 000 employees in over 60 countries" As part of the re-branding, an advertising campaign has been running in key international financial newspapers and magazines world-wide, as well as in selected financial dailies in Scandinavia. In addition, TV commercials based on the same creative concept will appear on CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg in Europe and Asia. - - - Press enquiries: Monica Ewert (Stockholm) +46 8 57 23 63 07 Steven Blaney +44 20 7678 8270 Notes to Editors: Netherlands-based ABN AMRO is a leading international bank with total assets of approx. EUR 614 bn. It has over 3,000 branches in 66 countries and territories, and has a staff of about 105,000 full time equivalents worldwide. ABN AMRO is listed on the Euronext, London and New York stock exchanges. ABN AMRO operates through three Strategic Business Units, each responsible for managing a distinct client segment. Wholesale Clients provides integrated corporate and investment banking services to corporate, institutional and public sector clients worldwide. Consumer & Commercial Clients focuses on retail and SME clients in three home markets - the Netherlands, the US and Brazil and in a number of selected growth markets. Private Clients & Asset Management provides private banking services to wealthy clients and investment products to financial intermediaries and institutional clients. ABN AMRO's Wholesale Clients Strategic Business Unit provides integrated corporate and investment banking solutions to around 10,000 corporate, institutional and public sector clients in over 45 countries. Its client- led approach is sector based and structured around four product groups: Financial Markets, which includes fixed income, syndicated loans, treasury, structured and project finance and risk management; Working Capital, which offers liquidity management, global payments and receivables and trade finance; Corporate Finance & Equities, providing corporate advisory as well as equity capital markets expertise and secondary market services; and Private Equity. With a global network, specialists in all major industry sectors and a broad range of products, ABN AMRO provides local and global expertise for complex cross-border deals. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/10/14/20031014BIT00560/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/10/14/20031014BIT00560/wkr0002.pdf