Former finance minister Gerrit Zalm was appointed head of the banking combine Fortis-ABN Amro in a surprise announcement on Friday afternoon.

“We have chosen to create one new, strong and vital bank,” said finance minister Woutrr Bos at a press conference. This bank should remain in government hands until at least 2011, he added.
The announcement put an end to the long-running uncertainty over the fate of the two banks and their employees.
ABN Amro and Fortis Bank Nederland were nationalised by the Dutch government in October, after the Fortis group lost the confidence of investors and clients.
The Fortis group, which has since been dismantled, was one of the three-strong consortium which bought the ABN Amro group last year.
Fortis had been trying to integrate ABN Amro’s Benelux arm into its own operations but this was difficult because of the culture clash between the two groups. The merger process was on hold when the government stepped in.
Since the nationalisation, various scenarios have been suggested for the future of the two banks.
Impeccable reputation
One of the reasons suggested for keeping the banks separate was to save jobs in a time of economic downturn. Together, Fortis Nederland and ABN Amro employ about 30,000 people in the Netherlands and an estimated 7,800 of those jobs are expected to be cut when the banks are integrated.
Nevertheless, Bos has now opted for a merger. And he has appointed his predecessor as finance minister, Gerrit Zalm as the new combine’s CEO.
“We searched for people with an impeccable reputation and with knowledge of the banking sector. And we wanted a leader who can bring the [companies’] different cultures together, someone from outside the banks concerned,” Bos said.
Gerrit Zalm is a member of the right-wing liberal party VVD and currently the financial director of the DSB bank. He will take over at the held of the integrated ABN Amro and Fortis bank “as soon as possible,” said Bos.
Bos also announced that Hessel Lindenbergh, former executive of bank insurer ING, will become the chairman of the supervisory board of the integrated Fortis Nederland-ABN Amro combine from January 1.