Trust business.
Mergers and Acquisitions.
Scheepvaart Krediet N.V
Bank Mees Hope N V.
New offices having been opened in New York,
Geneva, Hong Kong and the Virgin Islands of
the United States in 1984, the year under review
was one of consolidation.
«aw;
In view of the difficult economic situation on the
island of Curagao and the changes in the tax
laws in the United States - the repercussions of
which were inevitably felt in the Netherlands
Antilles - it is gratifying to be able to report that
ABN Trustcompany (Curaqao) N.V. achieved a
favourable result.
Such has been the growth of ABN Trust-
company (Virgin Islands) Inc. that it is already
one of the largest in that part of the world. As a
Dutch bank, we are delighted at our success with
this specific service in a completely American
environment.
ABN Trustcompany (Jersey) Ltd. and ABN
Trustcompany (Nederland) B.V. made
satisfactory progress in 1985. We are moderately
optimistic regarding the future of ABN Trust-
company (Suisse) S.A.
With the assistance of our branches in the
United States, we hope to intensify our trust
activities in the American market. An important
step was taken in this direction in 1985.
Introduced in mid-1984 as part of the improve
ment in the range of services provided by the
Directorate International Corporate Finance,
the Mergers and Acquisitions Department met
with a considerable response among clients at
home and abroad, and also attracted the
attention of companies not yet banking with
us. The service is not limited to firms which are
contemplating or involved in mergers or take
overs, but extends to advising on leveraged buy
outs and management buy-outs, now common
occurrences in the Netherlands, in which there
is a growing need for the services of the Bank in
the role of advisor or financier.
This subsidiary specializes in long-term, fixed-
interest loans for the purchase, construction and
refitting of ships. These are spread over three
sectors: Rhine and inland waterways, coastal
and fishery.
In the first of these sectors, the results in 1985
improved under the influence of a reduction in
the number of cases in which it was necessary to
reschedule repayments; this, in turn, was due to
a mild improvement in freight rates and a
decline in oil prices. In the coastal sector, the
year saw an increase in demand for new, smaller
vessels which are also suitable for operation on
major waterways. In the fishery sector, the need
for rescheduling repayments did not arise.
Bank Mees Hope NV, a group company,
improved its net profit by 13.8%. In contrast to
the previous year, the gross profit also rose
slightly.
Income rose by 6.6% to Fl. 428.3 million,
securities and merchant banking activities
contributing significantly to the rise. The issues
and securities dealing departments, in particular,
can look back on a highly successful year.
Exchange dealing also produced a considerably
larger surplus. These improvements are reflected
in an increase of 34% in extraordinary income.
The new office of ABN Trustcompany in St. Thomas, Virgin
Islands, got off to a good start.
53
