ABN AMRO Announces Major Strategic E-Commerce Investment.

Business/High-Tech Editors

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 2000

ABN AMRO (NYSE:ABN), a leading international banking group, today announced a strategic alliance with TRADE.COM(TM), the US global financial services Internet portal of BlueStone Capital Partners, L.P. ("BlueStone Capital").

TRADE.COM's highly developed e-trading platform will serve as the foundation for building the bank's online retail brokerage service around the world.

As part of the alliance, ABN AMRO has agreed to invest $62.5 million for a 25% stake in BlueStone Capital, a private US full service investment and merchant bank specializing in small to mid cap growth companies, of which TRADE.COM is a division. This guarantees ABN AMRO first call on partnering with TRADE.COM in any country in the world where ABN AMRO has e-brokering ambitions.

The partnership will give ABN AMRO `anchor bank' status for TRADE.COM in those countries. It will enable the bank to use TRADE.COM's technical infrastructure to provide its own ABN AMRO-branded online brokerage services in these markets by the end of this year. Subsequently, the bank will add other products and services to this platform as it develops a broader e-banking offer for retail customers.

As the sole anchor bank for TRADE.COM in many parts of the globe, ABN AMRO will locally execute, settle and clear securities transactions for TRADE.COM's direct clients, as well as for third parties that have no execution capabilities in these markets. ABN AMRO will use TRADE.COM's website to offer brokerage and other services under its own brand or the brands of its local subsidiaries and partners.

Through the TRADE.COM system -- a proven and fully developed integrated global platform -- ABN AMRO will be able to respond rapidly and effectively to the growing appetite for e-brokerage from its extensive retail client base. It will provide a formidable e-commerce engine to ABN AMRO's worldwide network, which includes membership of more than 40 international stock exchanges and existing retail brokerage businesses in 26 countries. Critically, it will also give ABN AMRO immediate access to selected markets in which the bank currently has no retail presence.

ABN AMRO will have a seat on the Board of BlueStone Capital. As TRADE.COM's strategic partner, it will work together with BlueStone Capital to develop TRADE.COM into a world-leading financial services e-commerce platform.

Rijnhard van Tets, a member of the Managing Board of ABN AMRO and Chairman of its Investment Banking Division, commented, "This is a major milestone for the bank. We have long held the view that the way to meet the challenge of delivering e-brokerage in a rapidly changing environment was to form strategic links with focused greenfield operations. TRADE.COM has a highly efficient and flexible business model. Its technical infrastructure and the versatility of its site in terms of geographic and product coverage are unique and it complements the global nature of our business very well."

"This partnership will enable us to launch integrated online brokerage and other financial services in a diverse range of markets much more speedily than building an international e-business system from scratch. We will make a quantum leap forward in our offer in Europe and elsewhere around the world."

Kamal Mustafa, BlueStone Capital's Chairman, said, "ABN AMRO was our preferred banking partner. Their extensive global network covering the institutional and retail markets offers an ideal community for TRADE.COM's system. It was equally important to us to partner with a collaborative institution that recognized the value in our entrepreneurial approach to the new economy. This transaction will enable us both to stay in the forefront of the new marketplace."

Note to Editors:

BlueStone Capital Partners L.P. is an investment and merchant banking institution, of which TRADE.COM is a division. Founded in 1996, BlueStone is growing rapidly as it pioneers new uses of the Internet for the financial services industry.

TRADE.COM is an Internet portal that will provide access to the global financial marketplace and one of the most comprehensive arrays of financial services available to individual investors around the world. No matter where they are located, investors will be able to take part in financial transactions and invest in markets in virtually any country. TRADE.COM also offers portfolio management tools, real time market data and a host of financial products and services (a).

Based in the Netherlands, ABN AMRO is a leading international bank group with nearly $500 billion in assets, active in 76 countries with more than 100,000 employees worldwide. ABN AMRO is the fourth largest bank in Europe and the largest foreign commercial bank in the US, with The LaSalle Group and Standard Federal in the MidWest and European American Bank in New York accounting for some $120 billion in assets. ABN AMRO shares trade in the US on the NYSE in ADR form, and are listed on the principal stock exchanges in Europe. The ordinary shares may be accessed on the Reuter Equities 2000 Service under the symbol ABN.AS and on Quotron under the symbol AABN.EU. Additional information is available on ABN AMRO's home page, http://www.abnamro.com.

(a) TRADE.COM is a service of BlueStone Capital Partners, L.P. Securities offered through BlueStone Capital Partners, L.P., member NASD, SIPC, ISMA.