‘An unexpectedly large setback’ cost merchant bank Oyens & Van Eeghen six bankers, including two board members, at the end of last year, the Financieele Dagblad said on Friday.

In addition, staff and supervisory board members were asked to take a pay cut, the paper quotes the bank’s annual report as saying.

Five of the six bankers who left were attached to the corporate finance division, which has now been halved in size. The unit’s ambitions have also been scaled back and will now focus on ‘strategic advice’ rather than ‘hunting down deals’, the FD said.

By contrast, the bank’s asset management activities are performing well and the returns on customer investments are good, the paper quotes the bank as saying.

New life

Three years ago a group of the Netherlands’ leading company bosses decided to revitalise the old Amsterdam merchant bank, which can trace its roots back to 1797 and had been dormant for some time.

Former ABN Amro executives Wilco Jiskoot and Jan Kalff were joined by former Goldman Sachs partner Wiet Pot and KPN CEO Ad Scheepbouwer in the project. A number of the Netherlands’ most monied families were also reported to be investing.

The aim of the new-look Oyens & Van Eeghen is to focus on asset management and corporate finance.