ABN AMRO Closes Acquisition of Banco Real Stake.

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 1998--ABN AMRO (NYSE: AAN), a leading international banking group, today announced that the acquisition of the majority of the interests from the controlling shareholder in Banco Real, Brazil's fourth largest privately held bank, plus a number of related businesses, as announced on July 8, 1998, has been formally closed with the signing in Sao Paulo last night of the relevant agreements. Part of the transaction is that management of Banco Real and its related businesses will now be exercised by ABN AMRO appointees.

The closing follows a period of thorough due diligence, which has confirmed ABN AMRO's opinion that Banco Real is a healthy and well-run bank. The price to be paid by ABN AMRO for its stake amounts to USD 2.1 billion, making it the bank's largest acquisition to date.

Mr. Jan Maarten de Jong, a member of ABN AMRO's Managing Board, commented from Sao Paulo after the signing ceremony was concluded: "A great deal of financial turbulence has recently been coming from the emerging markets. Let's not forget, however, that our investment in Banco Real is an investment in a perfectly sound retail banking operation that will generate a steady flow of stable revenues over the years. Given the continued high interest margins prevailing in retail banking in emerging markets we are confident that Brazil, already a prime generator of income for ABN AMRO, will only become more important to the bank. ABN AMRO is firmly committed to Brazil and the region and with the support of the IMF, G7 and others in place, we are convinced that market confidence in Brazil will return."

Banco Real has some 1,400 branches, 2.2 million retail clients, more than 100,000 corporate customers and nearly 15,000 employees in Brazil. It also brings a string of banking and insurance activities in seven other Latin American countries. The number of staff in the region will increase from 5,550 to more than 20,000 and the network from 125 to 1,550 branches.

ABN AMRO Bank is the number 8 bank in the world, measured by tier 1 capital (The Banker, July 1998). The bank is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, has total assets of nearly $500 billion, some 80,000 staff and an extensive global network of 1,900 offices in 71 countries (figure per June 30, 1998, pre Banco Real). 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 AAH.AS and on Quotron under the symbol AABN.EU. Additional information is available on ABN AMRO's home page: http://www.abnamro.com.