ABN Amro Bank NV has agreed to acquire NIBC Bank from Blackstone Inc. for about €960 million, in a move the Dutch lender said will expand its retail footprint and bolster savings operations in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

The deal, announced on 12 November, is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and works council consultations. ABN Amro said the purchase price equates to roughly 0.85 times NIBC’s book value at closing and will reduce its CET1 capital ratio by around 70 basis points.

Marguerite Bérard, chief executive officer of ABN Amro, said: “The acquisition of NIBC represents a unique opportunity to further strengthen our position in the Dutch retail market and contributes to profitable growth. This transaction meets our acquisition criteria and aligns fully with our new strategy.” She added that the strategy will be presented at the bank’s Capital Markets Day on 25 November 2025.

Annerie Vreugdenhil, chief commercial officer of personal and business banking at ABN Amro, said: “NIBC is a natural match for ABN Amro, strengthening our prominent position in the Dutch mortgage market, while also creating significant growth in the bank’s savings business with the addition of affluent retail clients.”

NIBC, founded in 1945, focuses on mortgage lending, savings, commercial real estate and digital infrastructure lending. Nick Jue, chief executive officer of NIBC, said: “Today’s announcement marks an exciting milestone in NIBC’s 80-year history… By combining our well recognised client proposition and networks with the scale and strength of ABN Amro, we will be able to provide even greater value to clients.”

Blackstone welcomed the transaction. Qasim Abbas, head of tactical opportunities international, said: “Working closely with the management team and supervisory board, we are proud to have joined NIBC on this journey in creating a stronger, more resilient bank and wish the team every success moving forward.”

ABN Amro expects the deal to generate a return on invested capital of around 18 per cent by 2029, supported by “significant synergy potential with low execution risk.” The bank also said it will streamline its mortgage brands, discontinuing Moneyou and focusing on ABN Amro and Florius, with room for the possible inclusion of the NIBC mortgage label. It intends to legally merge ABN Amro Hypotheken Groep BV into ABN Amro Bank NV to improve operational efficiency.

Separately, ABN Amro reported third quarter net profit of €617 million, above market expectations, and noted progress on cost-reduction efforts. Shares rose around 3 to 4 per cent on the day, with ING analysts calling the acquisition “a good value for money deal if execution is sound and ABN uses it to tackle its overriding cost issue.”

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