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RAPAPORT... The six members of ABN Amro's managing board renounced their $108,000 (EUR 100,000) bonus for 2014 following public outcry. ABN Amro has been nationalized since 2008; however, it is intending to go public again as early as this year.
"We understand and regret the turbulence that has arisen," the board wrote in a statement. "The turbulence is detrimental to our clients, our employees and the public’s trust in ABN Amro."
The board members stated that they had been recruited after nationalization to reorganize and prepare the bank for a public offering. "The allowance was granted based on democratically enacted legislation," the board stated. "It complies with the letter and spirit of the law, is recorded in a shareholder's resolution, was granted in accordance with the Minister of Finance and was reported to the Dutch Parliament." Nonetheless, the board added that since the bonuses pose a threat to the future of the bank, it was placing the organization's and public's interests first by steering the bank into "calmer waters." ABN Amro's profit fell 2.2 percent year on year to $1.2 billion (EUR 1.134 billion) in 2014, the underlying cost of risk dropped to 45 basis points compared with 63 basis points in 2013 and client satisfaction was unchanged at 50 percent.
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