ABN AMRO Announces Formation of Global Clearing and Execution Services Unit.

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 16, 2001

ABN AMRO today announced the creation of a new global integrated clearing and execution operation based in North America, to further enhance the service it provides to professional traders, financial institutions and hedge funds.

The bank is bringing together its key clearing and execution businesses -- ABN AMRO Dealer Services, ABN AMRO Sage Corporation and ABN AMRO Futures -- to form a new business unit called ABN AMRO Clearing and Execution Services (AACES). The move strengthens ABN AMRO's market leadership in providing clearing, settlement, execution, and financing services for the equities, options, futures and foreign exchange prime brokerage markets.

Douglas J. Engmann, chief executive officer of ABN AMRO Sage, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of AACES. He will be based in AACES's offices in San Francisco, California. The AACES Executive Committee will consist of Benjamin Witt (President of AAI), John C. Harris, and James A. Gary -- all of whom will remain in AACES's Chicago, Illinois offices. For management reporting purposes, AACES will be part of ABN AMRO's Global Transaction Services business within the bank's Wholesale Clients strategic business unit.

AACES will focus on pooling ABN AMRO's capabilities to provide a superior clearing, execution and financing service.

Robert van Paridon, Chief Executive Officer of ABN AMRO Incorporated in Chicago, commented: "AACES is the ideal platform for cross-selling value added services to our corporate clients, financial institutions, hedge funds, professional traders and B-to-B ventures." AACES will leverage the operational and technological expertise within each individual business line in creating a web-based front end that will offer an increased menu of products and services to its clients on a 24-hour basis.

Erik Post, Senior Executive Vice President, Global Transaction Services, added: "The formation of AACES reinforces ABN AMRO's commitment to the hedge fund and professional trader global client base. AACES is important to our international wholesale banking strategy of concentrating on business lines that deliver significant growth in profitability and superior returns."

AAI Dealer Services provides execution and clearing services primarily for options and equities. It is involved in more than 13% of all public orders executed on U.S. options exchanges and its proprietary order routing system, ISI, is responsible for executing approximately 4% of the total New York Stock Exchange daily volume.

ABN AMRO Sage Corporation provides clearing services primarily for options market makers, and ranks 4th among market maker clearing firms in the U.S. with a 10% market share. Its leading edge technology is considered the best in its industry.

ABN AMRO Futures provides 24-hour, full-service brokerage and support services for exchange-traded futures and options around the world. It executes and clears all major financial and non-financial futures products, including energy (it is the world's largest energy futures broker). It holds clearing memberships on all major U.S. exchanges and on 33 global futures exchanges.

AACES has operations in the following cities: Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, London, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Notes to Editors:

ABN AMRO

Netherlands-based ABN AMRO is one of the world's largest banks with total assets of over $500 billion and operations in more than 70 countries.

ABN AMRO's Wholesale Clients business is one of the largest European-based investment and corporate banking operations. It employs 20,000 people in more than 50 countries and provides a full range of advisory, financing and operational services to over 10,000 corporate, financial institution and public sector clients worldwide. It has leading positions in a number of major products, including debt capital markets, equity capital markets, loan syndications, debt and equity trading, foreign exchange, corporate finance, private equity and global trade services.

ABN AMRO in North America

In North America, ABN AMRO is headquartered in Chicago and has $171 billion in assets and more than 18,000 employees with offices in 13 cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Other North American subsidiaries include ABN AMRO Asset Management (USA) LLC; LaSalle Bank in Chicago; Standard Federal Bank in Michigan and EAB in New York.

Resumes of AACES Executive Committee Members

Douglas J. Engmann is President and Chief Executive Officer of ABN AMRO Sage Corporation, a subsidiary of ABN AMRO Incorporated. He was co-founder of Sage Clearing in 1982, which was acquired by ABN AMRO in May, 1998. He has served on the boards of the National Securities Clearing Corporation and the Options Clearing Corporation, SEC-regulated clearing houses responsible for the clearance of stock and options transactions. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the Pacific Exchange (PCX) from 1982 to 1988, and was re-elected to the Board of Governors in 1993, and was acting chairman of the PCX in 1986 and 1987. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley and master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both in economics.

James A. Gary is Executive Vice President of the Futures Division of ABN AMRO Incorporated. Prior to joining ABN AMRO in 1995, Mr. Gary had been Executive Vice President of the Chicago Stock Exchange in charge of marketing, sales and product development and President of Saul Stone and Company, a leading Chicago-based Futures Commission Merchant, which he joined in 1983. Prior to that he held various positions in sales and management in a nineteen-year career at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Gary serves on the National Board of Directors of the Futures Industry Association, and is a member of the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Mr. Gary is a graduate of Northwestern University.

John C. Harris is Executive Vice President and Manager of the Dealer Services Division of ABN AMRO Incorporated. He joined the Chicago Corporation in 1971, where he was employed until its acquisition by ABN AMRO in 1997. He is currently a director of the Option Clearing Corporation and a member of the CBOE Advisory Committee. He was formerly director and vice-chairman of the Pacific Exchange and chairman of SIA Option Committee.

Benjamin Witt is President of ABN AMRO Incorporated. He joined ABN AMRO Incorporated in 1993 after 25 years of management and trading experience in the securities, options, and futures industry. Ben previously managed the securities operations division and market maker clearing business of a major full-service investment-banking firm. He is currently a member of the Regulatory and Clearance Committee of the Securities Operations Division of the SIA, and a member CPA Society of Illinois. He is a past Director and Vice Chairman of the Options Clearing Corporation. Mr. Witt received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and MBA from Indiana University.