Belgian bank Fortis announced that it has received approval from the Dutch central bank for ABN AMRO Asset Management to be divested from ABN AMRO Bank.

Fortis is part of a consortium (inlcuding Royal Bank of Scotland and Banco Santander) that bought ABN AMRO last year. It has now received permission for the proposed demerger of ABN AMRO Asset Management from the bank. This step is expected to be completed at the end of the first quarter. It clears the way for the asset manager to be rolled into Fortis Investments.

“We’re on track”, explains Fortis CEO Jean-Paul Votron. “This is a major step forward and a key milestone in the integration process of the ABN AMRO activities that will join us. The subsequent combining of the two entities will see the formation of a world-class asset manager with an impressive solutions offering and a truly global footprint.”

The combination of the two asset managers would create a firm that operates in over 30 countries worldwide, and has over 2,000 employees, including 600 investment specialists in 40 investment centres.