Global, 02-10-2007

ABN AMRO smooths path to SEPA for corporate and financial institution clients

Boston, 2 October 2007

ABN AMRO smooths path to SEPA for corporate and financial institution clients

- ABN AMRO, Capgemini and EFMA present World Payments Report 2007

- ABN AMRO signs SEPA adherence agreement

- announces SEPA-ready services for corporate and financial institution clients

ABN AMRO has been working to ensure corporate and financial institution (FI) clients move smoothly into the SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) future.

ABN AMRO’s acknowledged SEPA thought-leadership position, SEPA-ready products, strategy and advisory services will be in evidence at Sibos 2007 in Boston, USA this week.

• At a breakfast session on Tuesday, 2 October, ABN AMRO, Capgemini and the European Financial Management and Marketing Association will present the World Payments Report 2007. The report, now in its third year, considers world payment trends, with a particular emphasis on developments towards a Single Euro Payments Area in Europe. A key finding of the report is that regulators will need to provide incentives to ensure European public administrations and corporations adopt the new SEPA instruments. The report can be downloaded from http://www.wpr07.com.
  
  
• On Tuesday, 2 October at 17.15 at the European Central Bank stand ABN AMRO will demonstrate its commitment to SEPA compliance by signing the SEPA adherence agreement at a special ceremony. Anne Boden, head of Transaction Banking for Europe at ABN AMRO said: “Testing is going extremely well and our systems are SEPA-ready. We are delighted to have this opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to providing our clients with a smooth transition to the new environment from day one.”
  
  
• This week at Sibos, ABN AMRO announces fuss-free conversion of legacy payments to SEPA XML. ABN AMRO’s SEPA solutions for both FIs and corporates are designed to minimise the impact of the change while enabling clients to reap the benefits with minimal adaptation. ABN AMRO’s innovative payments infrastructure supports a number of SEPA-ready product and connectivity options:
  
  Financial institutions may deliver payment instructions to ABN AMRO via ABN AMRO’s AccessDirect, SWIFT FIN or FileAct in either legacy or SEPA-compliant (FileAct XML) formats. Instructions received in legacy formats can be converted to SEPA XML formats for onward routing through SEPA compliant clearing and settlement mechanisms (CSMs).
  
  Similar options are available for corporate clients based in 17 European countries who wish to make EUR payments. Corporates may also deliver instructions to ABN AMRO in Edifact format, easing transition to the new message types.

Mike Hampson, Global Head of Financial Institutions, Transaction Banking, ABN AMRO said: “ABN AMRO is committed to helping its corporate and financial institution clients and their customers to move smoothly to SEPA and reap the benefits of greater standardisation from early in the adoption cycle. For our FI clients, this includes helping to insulate them from the technology changes and investments required through a range of conversion services as well as full outsourcing options where required.”

ABN AMRO will be at Sibos, 1-5 October on Stand E28 at the Boston Convention Center.

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Press enquiries: Anne Querée, + 44 20 7678 1675 anne.queree@uk.abnamro.com

Netherlands-based ABN AMRO is a leading international bank with total assets of EUR 1,120.1 bln (as at 30 June 2007). It has more than 4,500 branches in 53 countries, and has a staff of more than 107,000 full-time equivalents worldwide. ABN AMRO is listed on Euronext and the New York Stock Exchange.

ABN AMRO Transaction Banking delivers cash, trade and supply chain, and card products and services to corporations and businesses, financial institutions, retail customers and private clients globally. These services are available in some 3,000 locations in more than 50 countries. Underpinning this extensive global network is integrated technology supporting billions of payment, trade and card transactions every year. Global scale, a commitment to continuing product and service innovation and an in-depth understanding of local and global markets are key components of our offer.