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Another company being ruined by pure and simple greed. The link with Barclays is something what I can understand because the markets the two operate in are different and complementary.
The link with the three other firms does not make any sense other that they can do it and it means one more competitor less, but they are not out of the hot water because ABN AMRO devided into three is not that significant.
As a small customer, I like a bank with a good service and reliability. Up to now, I am satisfied with the ABNAMRO. Maybe Barclays and ABNAMRO join there strengths soon, and service and the reliability will not change a lot.
If Fortis becomes the new owner of (a part) of the bank, I will move immediate. I will look for a reliable Bank.
I second you on this. It is a reflection of the current state of affairs, where The management of ABN secures both a record price for Lasalle in record time and structures a seemingly ideal sale to Barclays, keeping the soul of the bank intact, its people motivated and its future certain.
Yet, for TCI, this is not enough. They want absolute returns and no prisoners are taken; Kill, mame and yes bury if necessary; abusing the integrity of their shareholdership in the process, neglecting the sanctity of a corporate structure and revealing the true nature of the Hedgefund; defining the concept of the “activist shareholder” for lack of a better term (destructive shareholder perhaps). Or maybe even “fanatic shareholder” or even “extremist shareholder”.
Whatever it is, it smells of pure greed, uncontrolled and unhindered by morals and etiquette.
Yet, these same people donate to charity, not actively, but they…well, they make money for them. They are as such not “active
benefactors” and certainly not “fanatic” ones.
This is besides the point though, what is important is that all those usually “inactive shareholders” are suddenly jumping on the train to “fanaticity”. I was amazed at how popular it has become to become “active” in the times where the hedgefunds rules. The “fanatic shareholders” may not carry a gun, but he packs a mean blackberry, which can be a lethal weapon in the hand of the hedgefund manager.
Ofcourse my greatest worry is Fortis destructing ABN in the Netherlands, killing jobs, careers and the soul of the bank in the process. The jesuits in Belgium,
no doubt sipping their Martinis in Glamorous
Knokke?, are taking great pride in destructing the protestant foundations of ye olde holland. After their little machiavellian sneaky work in ’97 during the Generale bank “situation”, where sneaky was still popular (It still is in Belgium) they are now being aided by the not so sneaky and yes, the “fanatic” shareholders packing blackberrys.
Good on The management of ABN to care for the future, for their people and to their common legacy and screw the “activist shareholder”, They should all be banished to
New Yersey or Knokke