The Rotterdamsche Bank, known from 1911 to 1947 as Rotterdamsche Bankvereeniging or Robaver,[1] was a significant bank in the Netherlands, founded in 1863. In 1964, it merged with Amsterdamsche Bank to form AMRO Bank (for AMsterdamsche & ROtterdamsche).[2]
The Rotterdamsche Bank was established on by a group of businessmen and bankers, who took inspiration from the British Colonial Bank and aimed at financing trade and investment in the Dutch East Indies. After a difficult start, however, the bank soon focused on domestic business.
Between 1911 and 1947 it was known as the Union Bank of Rotterdam (Dutch; Flemish: Rotterdamsche Bank Vereeniging, abbreviated as Robaver), following its 1911 acquisition of Rotterdam competitor Dutch; Flemish: Deposito- en Administratie Bank (est. 1900) and soon afterwards of Amsterdam brokers Dutch; Flemish: Determeijer Weslingh & Zn. (est. 1765). Under the leadership of its ambitious managing director, it went on to acquire a number of local banks,[3] but became overextended and had to be restructured under the aegis of De Nederlandsche Bank in the mid-1920s. In 1928, it created the ("Women's Bank"), a bank targeted at a female customer base that lasted until 1971.[3]
In 1960, Rotterdamsche Bank acquired Nationale Handelsbank, a major former colonial bank that had been known until 1950 as the Dutch-Indian Trade Bank (Dutch; Flemish: Nederlandsch-Indische Handelsbank, NIHB; est. 1863).