Illinois signs consent orders against ABN AMRO         

Joins federal agencies and New York state in largest fine ever imposed against an Illinois-supervised bank

[DEC. 20, 2005]  CHICAGO -- A $15 million fine paid to the state of Illinois by ABN AMRO Bank N.V., headquartered in the Netherlands, is the largest penalty ever imposed against an Illinois-regulated bank. The fine is part of the $80 million settlement against the bank announced Monday to settle persistent problems in ABN AMRO's compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.

ABN AMRO has offices in Chicago with assets of more than $31.4 billion. It is regulated by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, under the department's International Bank Supervision section, which participated in the examination and investigation of the bank's business practices.

"We are pleased that ABN AMRO has agreed to address the problems raised in today's consent orders," said Dean Martinez, acting secretary of the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. "The size of the penalties demonstrates we will not tolerate or condone its regulated banks being involved in improper transactions such as doing business with sanctioned states and failing to report suspicious activities."

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation joined the New York Banking Department, the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Office of Foreign Assets Control in investigating and drafting the consent orders. The settlement requires ABN AMRO to make improvements in its global compliance and risk management systems to ensure compliance with Illinois and federal laws. Further, the bank will be required to more carefully comply with anti-money laundering and suspicious activity monitoring and reporting. It also agreed to cease its participation in transactions that violate U.S. sanction laws. A joint statement regarding this order was issued Monday.

In addition to the $15 million fine that ABN AMRO is required to pay to the Illinois General Revenue Fund in penalties, the bank is also making an additional $5 million voluntary payment to the Illinois Bank Examiners' Education Foundation.

The joint statement and the consent orders are posted at www.idfpr.com.

[Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation news release]

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