The Dutch bank acquired by the 2007 consortium of RBS, Fortis, and Santander was ABN AMRO.
ABN AMRO had become a major international bank through years of expansion, but shareholders and investors pushed for a merger, sale, or breakup in 2007. Barclays pursued the bank, while a competing consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland, Belgium’s Fortis, and Spain’s Banco Santander made a higher offer.
The RBS-led consortium formally acquired ABN AMRO in October 2007 and divided its operations. Fortis took much of the Dutch and Belgian business, Santander received major Brazilian and Italian operations, and RBS acquired the wholesale banking and several other international businesses. The deal became one of the defining banking transactions before the global financial crisis; Fortis and RBS were later severely weakened by the acquisition and the crisis.