ABN Amro CEO: “All Jersey jobs going in 2016”

Thursday 01 October 2015

ABN Amro say that their entire Jersey operation will be closed down next year, with staff either made redundant or shifting to Guernsey.

The Dutch bank announced yesterday that their private banking arm would be wholly based in Guernsey following a strategic review.

And their Private Banking CEO Jeroen Rijpkema says that the bank’s 41-year relationship with Jersey will come to an end next year.

But he said that the decision was not about whether Guernsey was a better base than Jersey – instead he said the decision was based on the fact that the 92 staff in Guernsey are already using an updated IT system that ABN Amro want all of their private banking operation to be working on.

“It has nothing to do with our appreciation of the performance of our activity in Jersey, nor the appreciation of Jersey as a financial marketplace,” Mr Rijpkema told Bailiwick Express.

“But looking at the presence of ABN Amro both in Jersey and Guernsey we have come to the conclusion that it is in the interests of the bank and stakeholders to consolidate both units into one unit which will be located in Guernsey.”

He said that the fact that the Guernsey office was already using ABN Amro’s T24 banking platform was a key factor.

More jobs are likely to be created in Guernsey as part of the move, but ABN Amro say that they will only know how many once they know how many of their clients will be moving with them. They have begun the process of informing clients about the move.

“It is a strategic decision,” said Mr Rijpkema.

“It is not because of Jersey as a financial marketplace or not being happy with the performance over here, it’s looking from a strategic perspective from the group, we do not need a presence in both locations but would prefer a larger scale operation in one location.”

ABN Amro Private Bank currently operates in ten jurisdictions with assets above $200 billion under management.

A statement from Jersey Finance on the job losses pointed to the overall strength of the industry.

The statement said: "Job losses will always be regrettable but are symptomatic of the banking industry facing a number of regulatory and operational challenges in the wake of the financial downturn and, as a result, reassessing their operating structures.

"However, Jersey's finance industry as a whole is stable with notable growth seen in other sectors. The net asset value of funds, for instance, is at the third highest level since 2009 and is up 9% on the previous year.

"The latest government reports also paint a picture of stability with the Labour Market Survey finding that 400 jobs were added to the finance industry in 2014, which, at 12,500, is almost at pre-crisis levels, and the Business Tendency Survey showed that finance leaders are very optimistic about the industry with indicators for current and future business activity, profitability and employment all on the rise.

"In addition, Jersey Finance has begun working with employers on courses, which will assist employees to transfer their current skills to growing sectors that currently have a shortage of staff. While redundancies are never welcome news, this scheme may go some way to providing new and desirable opportunities for those affected."