rjc/lm/ / /versie F Anoniem

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1 Verslag van hetgeen behandeld is in de jaarlijkse Algemene Vergadering van Aandeelhouders van ABN AMRO Holding N.V. gehouden te Den Haag op 26 april 2007

2 AGENDA 1. Opening. pag Adoption of the minutes of the General Meeting of Shareholders held in (Vaststelling van het proces-verbaal van de Algemene Vergadering van Aandeelhouders gehouden in 2006.) pag Report of the Managing Board for the year (Verslag van de Raad van Bestuur over het jaar 2006.) pag a. Adoption of the 2006 financial statements. (Vaststelling van de jaarrekening 2006.) pag. 78 b. Adoption of the proposed dividend (Vaststelling van het voorgestelde dividend 2006.) pag a. Discharge of the members of the Managing Board in respect of their management during the past financial year, as described by the 2006 Annual Report and the information provided during this meeting. (Decharge van de leden van de Raad van Bestuur voor het door hen gevoerde bestuur gedurende het afgelopen boekjaar, zoals blijkt uit het jaarverslag 2006 en de tijdens deze vergadering verstrekte informatie) pag. 79 b. Discharge of the members of the Supervisory Board in respect of their supervision during the past financial year, as described by the 2006 Annual Report and the information provided during this meeting. (Decharge van de Leden van de Raad van Commissarissen voor het door hen uitgeoefende toezicht gedurende het afgelopen jaar, zoals blijkt uit het jaarverslag 2006 en de tijdens deze vergadering verstrekte informatie) pag. 80

3 6. Approval of the proposal by the Supervisory Board with respect to the Managing Board compensation policy. (Goedkeuring van het voorstel van de Raad van Commissarissen inzake het beloningsbeleid van de Raad van Bestuur.) pag Appointment of a new member and reappointment of existing members of the Supervisory Board. (Benoeming van een nieuw lid en herbenoeming van zittende leden van de Raad van Commissarissen.) a. Nomination for the appointment of Mrs. A.M. Llopis Rivas. (Voordracht voor de benoeming van mevrouw A.M. Llopis Rivas.) pag. 91 b. Nomination for the reappointment of D.R.J. Baron de Rothschild. (Voordracht voor de herbenoeming van D.R.J. Baron de Rothschild.) pag. 92 c. Nomination for the reappointment of Mr. P Scaroni. (Voordracht voor de herbenoeming van de heer P. Scaroni.) pag. 92 d. Nomination for the reappointment of Lord C. Sharman of Redlynch. (Voordracht voor de herbenoeming van Lord C. Sharman of Redlynch.) pag. 93 e. Nomination for the reappointment of Mr M.V. Pratini de Moraes. (Voordracht voor de herbenoeming van de heer M.V. Pratini de Moraes.) pag Authorisation of the Managing Board (in agreement with Section 2:98 Dutch Civil Code), subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board, to have the company acquire shares in its own capital, for a consideration, up to the maximum number that may, by virtue of the provisions of Section 2:98 (2) of the Dutch Civil Code, be acquired by the company. (Verlening van een machtiging aan de Raad van Bestuur (in overeenstemming met artikel 2:98 van het Burgerlijk Wetboek) om, met goedkeuring van de Raad van

4 Commissarissen, de vennootschap, anders dan om niet, eigen aandelen te doen verkrijgen tot het aantal hetwelk, ingevolge het bepaalde in artikel 2:98 lid 2 BW, maximaal door de vennootschap verkregen kan worden.) pag Resolution to appoint the Managing Board for a period of 18 months from 27 April 2007, as the body authorised to act, subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board: a. to issue ordinary shares, convertible preference shares and preference financing shares, including the grant of rights to take up shares of such classes, provided that: - an overall maximum of 10% of the issued capital as at 27 April 2007 is not exceeded; - the price is not below par, subject to the provisions of Section 2:80 (2) of the Netherlands Civil Code; - and subject to such further conditions as may be decided by the Managing Board on each issue, with the approval of the Supervisory Board. b. to restrict or exclude shareholders pre-emptive rights under the law or the articles of association on the issue of ordinary shares, convertible preference shares and preference financing shares or on the granting of rights to take up such shares, in accordance with the authorisation described under agenda item 9a above. (Besluit tot aanwijzing van de Raad van Bestuur voor een periode van 18 maanden met ingang van 27 april 2007, als het orgaan dat met goedkeuring van de Raad van Commissarissen bevoegd is tot: a. uitgifte van gewone aandelen, preferente in gewone aandelen converteerbare aandelen en preferente financieringsaandelen, daaronder begrepen het verlenen van rechten tot het nemen van deze soorten aandelen, onder de voorwaarde dat: - een gezamenlijk maximum van 10 procent van het geplaatste kapitaal per 27 april niet wordt overschreden;

5 - de koers niet beneden pari is, behoudens het bepaalde in artikel 2:80 lid 2 BW; - en voorts onder zodanige voorwaarden als bij iedere uitgifte door de Raad van Bestuur met goedkeuring van de Raad van Commissarissen zal worden bepaald. b. beperking of uitsluiting van het wettelijk of statutair voorkeursrecht van aandeelhouders bij uitgifte van gewone aandelen, converteerbare preferente aandelen en preferente financieringsaandelen of bij het verlenen van rechten tot het nemen van deze aandelen, in overeenstemming met de onder agendapunt 9a omschreven machtiging. Pag. 95, Report of the Managing Board with respect to the ABN AMRO strategy and recent events. (Verslag van de Raad van Bestuur met betrekking tot de strategie van ABN AMRO en de recente gebeurtenissen.) pag The proposal for motions, upon request of The Childrens Investment Fund ( TCI ) exactly in the wording as put forward by and proposed by TCI. (Voorstel voor de volgende agendapunten, op verzoek van The Childrens Investment Fund ( TCI ) in exact dezelfde bewoording als opgesteld en voorgesteld door TCI.) pag A shareholder vote on the principle that it is in the best interests of all shareholders, other stakeholders and the company for the Managing Board of ABN AMRO to actively pursue any possibilities to sell, spin-off or merge some or all of the major businesses of the company to maximise shareholder value. (Stemming door de aandeelhouders over het uitgangspunt dat het in het belang van alle aandeelhouders, overige belanghebbenden en de Vennootschap is dat de Raad van Bestuur van ABN AMRO actief de mogelijkheden nastreeft om bepaalde of alle grotere bedrijfsonderdelen van de Vennootschap te verkopen, af te splitsen

6 of te fuseren ten einde maximale waarde voor de aandeelhouders te creëren.) pag A shareholder vote on the principle that it is in the best interests of all shareholders, other stakeholders and the Company for the Managing Board of ABN AMRO to return the cash proceeds of any major business disposals to all shareholders by way of a share buyback or special dividend. (Stemming door de aandeelhouders over het uitgangspunt dat het in het belang van alle aandeelhouders, overige belanghebbenden en de Vennootschap is dat de Raad van Bestuur van ABN AMRO de contante opbrengsten van de verkoop van grotere bedrijfsonderdelen aan alle aandeelhouders teruggeeft door middel van de inkoop van eigen aandelen of de uitkering van een speciaal dividend.) pag A shareholder vote on the principle that it is in the best interests of all shareholders, other stakeholders and the Company for the Managing Board of ABN AMRO to actively pursue any possibilities to sell or merge the whole Company to maximize shareholder value. (Stemming door de aandeelhouders over het uitgangspunt dat het in het belang van alle aandeelhouders, overige belanghebbenden en de Vennootschap is dat de Raad van Bestuur van ABN AMRO actief de mogelijkheden nastreeft om de hele Vennootschap te verkopen of te fuseren ten einde maximale waarde voor de aandeelhouders te creëren.) pag A shareholder vote on the principle that it is in the best interests of all shareholders, other stakeholders and the Company for the Managing Board of ABN AMRO to report to shareholders upon the outcome of such active investigations referred to in the above paragraphs within 6 months from the date of the AGM. (Stemming door de aandeelhouders over het uitgangspunt dat het in het belang van alle aandeelhouders, overige belanghebbenden en de Vennootschap is dat de Raad van Bestuur van ABN AMRO binnen zes maanden na de datum van de Jaarlijkse Algemene Vergadering van Aandeelhouders verslag uitbrengt aan de

7 aandeelhouders over de uitkomsten van actief ingesteld onderzoek als bedoeld in bovenstaande punten.) pag A shareholder vote on the principle that it is in the best interests of all shareholders, other stakeholders and the Company for the Managing Board of ABN AMRO to cease the pursuit, for a period of six months from the date of the AGM, of any major business acquisitions, including the rumoured acquisition of Capitalia SpA which has been the subject of repeated speculation in the public press. (Stemming door de aandeelhouders over het uitgangspunt dat het in het belang van alle aandeelhouders, overige belanghebbenden en de Vennootschap is dat de Raad van Bestuur van ABN AMRO gedurende een periode van zes maanden na de datum van de Jaarlijkse Algemene Vergadering van Aandeelhouders geen grotere acquisities nastreeft, waaronder in het bijzonder de overname Capitalia SpA waarover geruchten de ronde doen en in de media bij herhaling publiekelijk is gespeculeerd.) pag. 77

8 LIJST VAN SPREKERS Accountant pag. 54. H.Y. Barett pag. 3, 5, 15, 22, 71, 72. H.G. Boumeester pag. 99. R.W.J. Groenink pag. 9, 10, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 98, 99. R.J.C. van Helden (notaris) pag. 60, 64, 76, 94. A.C. Martinez (voorzitter) pag. 1, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 1 8, 19, 22, 23, 41, 44, 46, 47, 50, 52, 55, 61, 63, 64, 65, 68, 75, 76, 78, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 97, 98, 99. H.W. Nagtglas Versteeg pag. 83. Drs. R. Teerlink pag. 55, 56. pag. 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 71, 72, 73, 74, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 91, 92, 97. Spreker 2 pag. 9, 10, 37, 38. Spreker 3 (VBDO) pag. 14, 15, 39, 40, 60, 70, 88, 89, 90, 98, 99. Spreker 4 pag. 15, 17, 18, 58, 59. Spreker 5 pag. 16, 38, 39.

9 Spreker 6 pag. 16, 90. Spreker 7 (ABP) pag. 17, 18, 49, 50, 51, 69, 70, 81. Spreker 8 pag. 21, 22. Spreker 9 pag. 22, 23. Spreker 10 pag. 35, 36, 37. Spreker 11 pag. 44, 45, 46, 47. Spreker 12 pag. 47. Spreker 13 pag. 48. Spreker 14 pag. 48, 49. Spreker 15 pag. 52. Spreker 16 pag. 52, 53. Spreker 17 pag. 53, 93, 99. Spreker 18 (Delta Lloyd) pag. 54, 55, 71. Spreker 19 pag. 55. Spreker 20 pag. 55, 56. Spreker 21 (Spoorwegpensioenfonds) pag. 55, 56. Spreker 22 (Pensioenfonds Metaal en Techniek) pag. 57, 70, Spreker 23 pag. 58. Spreker 24 pag. 59. Spreker 25 pag. 59, 60. Spreker 26 (TCI) pag. 65, 66. Spreker 27 pag. 68, Spreker 28 pag. 71,

10 Spreker 29 pag. 71. Spreker 30 pag. 74, 75. Spreker 31 pag. 90.

11 1 ALGEMENE VERGADERING VAN AANDEELHOUDERS ABN AMRO HOLDING N.V. 1. Opening, de heer A.C. Martinez Goede middag, dames en heren. Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you very warmly to this Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. We are delighted to see such a large turnout of our shareholders and we look forward to a full and complete discussion of the issues that are placed on the agenda this afternoon. I will also apologize that I have exhausted my Dutch in my opening greeting to you, but as I will note English and Dutch are the accepted languages in this meeting today. In particular I would like to welcome the representatives of the central workers council, the European workers council and the press. Also present are mr Boogaard and mr Veger of our external auditors Ernst & Young. Unfortunately one of our Supervisory Board members Lord Sharman of Redlynch is unable to attend as he is the chairman of a British public company, Aviva, whose Annual General Meeting is today and he is obliged to chair that meeting. I establish that the meeting has been convened in accordance to the provisions of articles 28, 29 and 30 of the articles of association by means of an advertisement placed in the official pricelist of Euronext and in the issues of NRC Handelsblad, De Telegraaf and Het Financieel Dagblad of 28 March That notice specified the date, place and starting time of this meeting and that the complete agenda and its notes as well as the 2006 annual report are available for inspection at, and copies may be obtained free of charge from, the banks listed in the advertisement and the company website. I therefore establish that this general meeting can pass valid resolutions on the items set out in the agenda of the meeting. Before we begin to address the agenda I would like to make a number of remarks of a procedural nature to ensure that we have an orderly meeting today. I would like to make it clear that the makings of any recordings of this meeting other than those specifically authorised by the company is strictly forbidden. All financial documents such as the annual report and the financial statements will be read in English, these documents have been provided with a Dutch translation. As I noted, English and Dutch are both accepted languages for this meeting.

12 2 This year the General Meeting of Shareholders can once again be followed by means of an Internet web cast. Naturally, people following the proceedings at the meeting in this way will be given the option of listening in Dutch or English. However, these shareholders cannot ask questions or cast their vote during the meeting. Please note that only the persons on the platform will be shown on the web cast. Minutes of the meeting shall be taken by Mr. Van Helden, a civil-law notary of Mr. M.J. Meijer cs, civil law notaries. Now certainly with the large audience that we have today we expect to receive many questions on the matters on the agenda, so we need, I believe, an orderly process, to show respect for other shareholders and to allow all shareholders to ask their questions. So I would suggest that as a protocol we use the following: When asking questions, please go to one of the numbered microphones and, after you have been recognised by the chair, please state your name clearly and, if applicable, who you represent, so that this can be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. I would like to request that you restrict your question to one single issue. Should you have other issues you wish to discuss, you will be welcomed back to the microphone at a later time to discuss them. Of course I would like to invite you all to be as concise as possible so that we all have an opportunity, all of the shareholders have an opportunity to do so within the estimated time available for this meeting, but we certainly will try to respond to all your questions. This year once again arrangements have been made in the meeting room for those present to vote electronically using the Shareholder Voting System. When you registered you received a ballot box and a ballot card containing a chip that has been pre-programmed with the number of votes to which you are entitled. The electronic voting procedure is explained in the accompanying instruction leaflet which can be found in the file handed out to you when entering the meeting. I recommend that you go through these instructions before we actually proceed with voting. The items that will be put to a vote at the meeting are set out in the agenda of the meeting. With regards to the voting procedure I also note that all resolutions proposed on the agenda can be passed by an absolute majority of the votes cast except that adoption of the resolution proposed under agenda item 9(b), shall require a two-thirds majority if less than half of the issued capital is represented at this meeting. This agenda item concerns delegation of power to the Managing Board to limit or restrict pre-emption rights on the issue of shares.

13 3 Like last year, proxy material has been distributed through the Dutch Shareholders Communication Channel (Stichting Communicatiekanaal Aandeelhouders) to the shareholders participating therein. Our shareholders have also been given the opportunity to give an electronic proxy on the Internet to Mr. Van Helden, civil-law notary of Mr. M.J. Meijer cs, civil law notaries. The verification of the attendance list is now being completed. As soon as the attendance list has been finalised, I will inform you of the amount of share capital represented at the meeting and how many votes can be cast. Finally, I like to point out to you that: 16,357 ABN AMRO shareholders are registered with the Dutch Shareholders Communication Channel. They have been contacted by letter in advance and given the opportunity to vote by proxy of them, or approximately 7,7 percent of the shareholders, have made use of the possibility; together they represent 53,834,879 ordinary shares and 25 formerly convertible shares. These shares will be added to the number of shares represented. Are there any questions on these matters? No. Let s proceed, to the next agenda item: 2. Adoption of the minutes of the General Meeting of Shareholders held in (Vaststelling van het proces-verbaal van de Algemene Vergadering van Aandeelhouders gehouden in 2006.) The minutes of the General Meeting of Shareholders of 27 April 2006 were made available on the Internet after the meeting, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Corporate Governance Supplement. No comments were received in respect of the draft minutes. Are there any questions concerning that General Meeting of Shareholders, 27 April 2006? If not, and I see no one rising, the minutes of the general meeting of shareholders on 27 April 2006 are hereby adopted. Next on the agenda is 3. Report of the Managing Board for the year (Verslag van de Raad van Bestuur over het jaar 2006.) De heer H.Y. Scott Barrett

14 4 I would like to divide my remarks into three themes. The first is to report on progress with regard to the priorities set by the Managing Board in 2006, the second is to provide you with details of the 2006 results and third is to comment briefly on the first quarter results which were released in their full form this morning. Let me begin with an update on the six Managing Board priorities. In the beginning of 2006 the Managing Board established six major priorities and I would like to take each of them in turn. The first was to derive organic growth from the structure that we have established at the beginning of last year, a structure that was designed to focus all of our resources on the core mid-market segments of the Group. Mass affluent retail customers, and mid-market commercial customers. Two important segments where all other parts of the Group would support growth. And what you can see on the top the slide is that total operating income grew by 19.6 percent. Part of that obviously coming from the acquisition of Antonveneta, part of it coming by way of organic growth, an organic growth of 6.4 percent. The second of the key priorities was strict capital discipline. What we were able to achieve in 2006 was to accelerate the restoration of the bank s capital ratio s following the acquisition of Antonveneta and at the same time to begin a programme of share buy backs during the course of last year. The net impact of that, together with a focus on optimizing the allocation of capital to individual businesses was to increase the core tier one ratio from 5.57 percent in December 2005 to 6.18 percent in December The third of the Managing Board s priorities was to realize the synergies from the acquisition of Antonveneta which after a long and protracted offer process concluded in April of Ik spreek namens de Vereniging van Effecten Bezitters en wij vertegenwoordigen 880 aandeelhouders. Met alle respect voor de presentatie die is voorbereid, ik zie dat er in totaal 22 slides aan ons zullen worden voorgeschoteld. Ik zou willen weten of deze resultaten zijn inclusief de Amerikaanse activiteiten van ABN AMRO, van LaSalle, en indien dit zo is, hoe al die cijfers eruit zien zonder LaSalle en wat de relevantie ervan is om dit nu aan ons te vertellen als u afgelopen maandag heeft besloten om deze activiteiten te verkopen. You are asking a question with respect to the 2006 financial statements. You appear to want some presentation that excludes the results of LaSalle Bank for That is not appropriate,

15 5 the results of the bank for 2006 fully included LaSalle bank and that the basis upon which we will present the results of On the same issue I have one question and that is what part of the figures that he is presenting are new compared to the Annual Report. None. All of these figures are contained in the Annual Report you will all have available at the end of the meeting and a copy of Mr Scott Barrett s materials to take away and I assure you that they are fully consistent with the Annual Report. Thank you very much. De heer H.Y. Scott Barrett I will willingly continue my presentation but will acknowledge Spreker 1 observation by speeding up my delivery in order to ensure that we can move on the agenda as quickly as possible. And in respect to his question with regard to LaSalle: if he wanted to see the consequences of the disposal of LaSalle: they are contained in the first quarter results in the unaudited financial statements which were released earlier today. I will continue, but I will focus merely on a small number of key points which support the realisation and delivery of the targets, the commitments that we made, because I think it is important that the shareholders understand that we did deliver on a number of these targets. The realisation of the synergy of Antonveneta is the third of the major Managing Board s initiatives. We successfully integrated the business, we increased the expected revenue and cost synergies by 170 million euro s. The fourth of the key Managing Board s priorities was the realisation of the synergies under the Group Shared Services Program. Cost growth during the course of the year slowed down and in the second half was 11, almost 12 percent lower than in the equivalent period for that second half in the year And as we moved into the fourth quarter we saw the major impact of that, in terms of lower underlying costs in the fourth quarter which had a big impact on the first quarter numbers. The fifth of the Managing Board s priorities was to deliver significant improvement in the performance of Global Markets, Global Clients and the BU Europe. Global Markets delivered a significant improvement in the efficiency ratio. Global Clients and BU Europe were

16 6 positioned to substantial improvement in profitability, which you will see has now been achieved in the first quarter of Let me than focus on the major highlights, the second theme of the 2006 results. Total operating income increased by 19 percent, operating result came up by 14.5 percent. A substantial increase in the level of provisioning, coming primarily from growth in consumer portfolio s in Brazil and Asia, leading to an increase in provisions of 1.2 billion euro. This was compensated for by substantially lower tax rates, leading to the profit for the period up by 7.6 percent, a return on equity of over 20 percent for the year. Organic growth of 6.4 percent being achieved while at the same time maintaining a very high level of return relative to risk weighted assets as you can see from the slide on the right hand side. We have been able to maintain best in class quality of revenue growths, relative to the capital that we committed to our lending portfolio s. If we look at the expense story you will see that expenses increased by 7.6 percent. If we look at the major drivers of that expense growth, the acquisition of Antonveneta is the most significant, but there have also been significant investments in growth in Latin America, in Asia, where we have grown expenses by some 370 million euro s. And there have been expenses in control, covering everything from Sarbanes-Oxley to Basel II to investments in compliance, which I will come on to in a second, and a slowing down of costs as a result of our investments in off shoring and outsourcing. As I mentioned, provisioning has been driven to a large extend by the growth in provisions in Brazil and Asia. It is important here to emphasize that the growths in provisions here has been accomplished by a very strong top line growth, so that even after the impact of provisions in Brazil the level of operating income has been maintained. So in summary: The full year 2006 results show an underlying growth of 6.4 percent in terms of operating income, 7.6 percent in terms of operating expense. Over all the level of profitability for the year 2006 is over 4.7 billion euro and the return on equity is above the Groups target. That is reflected in the growth in terms of earnings per share of 2.9 percent. However if you adjust for one-off items then the underlying earnings per share excluding the businesses that we sold during the course of 2006 excluding the proceeds of disposals is approximately two euro a share, that is important, because that is the base from which we come to determine the targets that we have set for And the growth in dividend over the year was 4.5 percent, so growing dividend faster than earnings per share growth. The return on equity of 20.7 percent reflects the fact that significant equity was raised in conjunction with the acquisition of Antonveneta and the returns from the Antonveneta increase over time,

17 7 but at this stage the return on equity from the Antonveneta acquisition is below the Group s average. You can see that from the right hand slide which shows the returns on assigned risk capital, the measure that we use to measure the returns of businesses and which determines the allocation of resources. What you can see is a range of returns from a negative return in the BU Europe, to a 30 percent for Latin America and a 73 percent for Asset Management. The Chairman of the Managing Board has on several occasions characterised 2006 as a year of transition, 2007 as a year of delivery and delivery for ABN AMRO means an underlying earnings per share of 2 euro 30. So that excludes major one-off items such as disposals and restructuring charges. We are going to achieve that target based on a significant improvement in the operating performance of the Group. We said at the time of the full year numbers that we expected provisions to rise, we expected the tax rate to rise and that the majority of the improvement would come from an improvement in the operating result which will be driven by growth in our major franchises in Latin America, Asia and Italy, efficiency coming through from more mature franchises such as the Netherlands and acceleration in terms of the improving performance from Global Markets, Global Clients and the BU Europe. And indeed, if we turn to the first quarter numbers, that is precisely what you see. What I have presented here on this slide is the earnings per share and operating result and underlying performance of the business. As you may be aware, we published our preliminary results on the sixteenth of April, the results that we published this morning are substantially the same from an operating perspective. They do however, include an adjustment of our results in light of developments in the status of our discussions with the department of Justice in the U.S. and an adjustment of 365 million euro has been taken with the first quarter numbers. The underlying operating performance of the businesses however has been strong and an underlying operating profit of 2 billion euro s has been achieved for the first time in the bank s history. And that has been achieved through a significant contribution from all of the major regional businesses. You can see on the slide a significant improvement in Europe which had been less profitable in 2006, from Asia and continuing strong contributions from North America and Latin America. All of these regional businesses have included within them our Global Markets and our Global Clients activities, the two bars on the right hand side. What you can see is that each of those two businesses has been driving a significant part of the growth in operating income in the first quarter of this year, leading to an increase in operating income year on year of 10.5 percent. What you also see is that expenses have been growing much less fast than the growth in operating income. Year on year expenses have grown by 6 percent, but importantly against the last quarter of last year, have fallen by a

18 8 headline 4.2 percent, an underlying reduction of 1 percent. This reflects the first benefits of the cost reduction measures that we have taken through the year and has underpinned the improved performance of the first quarter of the year, which is reflected in substantial improvement in the efficiency ratio of the group as a whole, 66.6 percent on an underlying basis, compared to an average last year of over 70 percent. The first quarter of last year it was 69.4 percent, so this reflects the strong growth, particularly in Global Markets and in Latin America, good cost control. As a consequence of that you can see business by business how the efficiency ratio s have improved. I would highlight in particular the improvement in the BU Europe with an efficiency ratio of over 100 percent last quarter and an efficiency ratio of 82.9 percent this quarter, an improvement in Latin America of 55.6 percent, an improvement in Global Markets between 68 and 69 percent, well ahead of the target that we have set of 75 percent for the full year. Also we see significant improvement in the efficiency ratio of Global Clients from approximately 90 percent to 79.7 percent, a broadly based improvement in the operating performance of the individual businesses. That is reflected therefore in the headline numbers, again excluding, as I mentioned, at the outset, a 20.8 percent improvement in terms of operating results, a 25 percent increase in underlying net operating profit and earnings per share, excluding one-off items of 0.66 cent. Well on track therefore to achieve our underlying goal of 2.30 euro per share. That is also reflected in improved returns, both expressed in terms of return on equity and return on assigned risk capital for the businesses. You can see on the right hand side of this slide that the return for BU Europe has moved from a negative to a return that is substantially above the Group s average, an indication of the level of improvement that has been made. You can see across the right hand side that the improvement in the returns from Global Clients, that is now generating a return of 19 percent, very close to the 20 percent target for this business for I am sorry that I have taken longer than some of us wanted, but I hope at least I have given a little bit of colour, not only around 2006, but also around the first quarter s performance of Thank you, Mr Chairman. : Thank you, Mr Scott Barrett. As I indicated earlier, there will be copies of the presentation slides available for interested shareholders after the meeting.

19 9 What I would now like to do is invite you to ask any questions about the Managing Board s report for the 2006 year and the first quarter of I understand that you also have questions about the strategic developments in the first quarter. Those will be covered in full in the agenda item 10, so I would ask you to restrict your questions to the financial results for 2006 and to the first quarter of Who would like to ask the first question? Spreker 2 De Raad van Bestuur heeft in het verleden de lat hoog gelegd, te hoog. Daar worden ze helaas nu op afgerekend, maar er was moed voor nodig om die ambitieuze lat zo hoog te leggen. Het is u helaas niet gegund om de oogstjaren mee te maken is zo n oogstjaar, ik denk dat de komende jaren ook oogstjaren zullen worden, het is u helaas niet gegund. Toch heb ik nog enige opmerkingen. Ik denk dat het toch goed is dat er iets verteld wordt, misschien dat de heer Groenink dat straks zal doen, over hoe het gaat met de activiteiten in Italië. Het zou ook goed zijn om te vertellen waarom er enige ophef was in Rusland. Ik denk dat het voor LaSalle een goede zaak zou zijn als de opbrengst werd verdeeld in contanten naar de aandeelhouders en niet aangewend wordt voor de inkoop van aandelen, want aandeelhouders zijn er bij gebaat om opbrengsten gewoon cash te ontvangen en mogelijk zou ook het bod van Barclays voor nog een deel in contanten kunnen worden gedaan. Mijn laatste vraag is hoe het gaat met Rusland. Mr R.W.J. Groenink On Italy we can report substantial progress after we fully integrated the company, in the course of 2006, into ABN AMRO. We have been working hard on establishing a new strategy for the consumer banking business, the commercial banking business and we have started a full conversion program for the branches, making them more up to date and more attractive for the customers. We have changed the logo, the name of Antonveneta and we have also introduced a series of new products to which the Italian customers of Antonveneta were not used. We have seen the first signs of success in the first quarter of these new programs. And lastly, and I think that our Italian colleagues deserve a compliment for that, whilst they were becoming part of ABN AMRO as of the first of April and they had to do a lot on integrating and helping to integrate Antonveneta in ABN AMRO, they managed to improve the profitability of the bank at the same time. Now we have set ourselves a target to improve the net result for 2007 with another 100 million to 500 million euro s. We are the first to admit that that is not were we have to be, it

20 10 has to be substantially more, but we are confident that we will be able to reach the 500 hundred million this year and that we are on track to meet our return targets for Part of it will certainly be also a branch reorganisation, more focus, we will be selling branches and we also will try to buy branches. It is very common in Italy to buy and sell branches, so we will certainly look where we can strengthen our position in Italy with the acquisition of branches or sets of branches. As regards to Capitalia, there is no change, we are still a member of the pact, which runs till June 2008 and we are a constructive shareholder supporting the strategy and the operational objectives of the bank. As regards to Russia, I am terribly sorry, but I don t know what you are referring to. Spreker 2 Ik doelde erop dat er commotie was dat ABN AMRO niet op de juiste manier aan het bankieren was in Rusland. Mr R.W.J. Groenink Er zijn inderdaad een paar berichten geweest over de wijze waarop ABN AMRO het onderzoek deed naar nieuwe klanten met name, en de procedures. Er verscheen een bericht in de kranten dat ABN AMRO niet de juiste procedures gebruikte en niet gebruik maakte van de juiste onderzoeksbureaus. Dat hebben wij onderzocht en dat hebben wij ook overlegd met de Centrale Bank van Rusland, de toezichthouder en met onze Nederlandsche Bank en wij zijn tot de conclusie gekomen dat wij ons volkomen strikt hielden aan de voorschriften terzake. Dus dat punt is helemaal opgelost en uit de wereld. Wat betreft LaSalle denk ik dat wij daarop moeten terugkomen als wij zijn toegekomen aan het agendapunt dat gaat over de strategie. Uit de commentaren van ABN AMRO is gebleken dat u in de loop van 2006 heeft besloten de strategie te heroverwegen. In de media heb ik daarbij het tijdstip van juli 2006 gezien. Vanaf juli 2006 is ABN AMRO gaan kijken naar alternatieven voor de vier pijler strategie, laat ik zeggen de geografische gebieden, Nederland, Brazilië, Italië, de Verenigde Staten. Wanneer is de beslissing genomen om die strategie te heroverwegen? Wanneer is dat voor het eerst met de Raad van Commissarissen besproken, wanneer is daar voor het eerst een besluit over genomen en wanneer hebt u besloten om niet langer die vier pijler strategie na te streven en te gaan kijken naar fusies en een mogelijke overname van ABN AMRO? En wanneer hebt u besloten dat bijeenhouden van die vier activiteiten niet langer heilig is?

21 11 The question does not deal with the results of 2006 or the first quarter of It is an extremely appropriate question for the strategy conversation which will be held in a few agenda items so I would ask you to hold that question until that time and it will be answered fully at that time. Mijnheer Martinez, er is een misverstand. Het woord strategie komt meer dan honderd keer voor in het jaarverslag. Ik praat over juli 2006, wat duidelijk binnen dit boekjaar valt. U hebt uitspraken gedaan als Raad van Commissarissen en Raad van Bestuur over de strategie van deze banken. Dat hoort bij dit agendapunt en ik wil nu van u weten wanneer u en in welke vergadering van de Raad van Commissarissen u hebt besloten om een andere strategie te overwegen dan degene die u tot dan toe nastreefde. The answer to the question with respect to when the Supervisory Board was engaged in strategy in 2006 is essentially every meeting. Our Supervisory Board meetings always have an operating component and a strategic component. In each year in the July meeting we do an intensive two-day meeting to discuss strategy, strategic choices and our go forward alternatives. So I would suggest here that it has been a continuous discussion with an annual deep involvement in the strategic choices available to the bank. But I hope you don t change the strategy of the bank every meeting. No we discuss strategy every meeting. Wanneer hebt u overwogen om de strategie van deze onderneming die op vier pilaren was gebaseerd, te veranderen en om overname of fusie in ogenschouw te nemen en om verkoop van onderdelen te overwegen? Als U blijft beweren dat het niet door TCI komt, wanneer hebt u het dan zelf besloten en waarom?

22 12 Well I would again respectfully request you to hold the question on strategy developments as it relates to mergers and acquisitions, until that section of the meeting and it will be answered in full. Wat verwacht u van ons? Dat wij decharge gaan verlenen over het gevoerde beleid in 2006 en over het gehouden toezicht in 2006 als u zich niet wilt verantwoorden over het gevoerde beleid in 2006 en het gehouden toezicht in 2006? Hoe kan dat? Of stelt u voor die punten, de stemming over decharge uit te stellen tot na punt 10? The question of discharge with respect to 2006 is with respect to the elements of financial returns, financial report, financial activities in 2006, all of the actions collectively of the Supervisory Board and of the Managing Board. Strategic conversations, which resulted in decisions in 2007 are not the subject of the discharge recommendation in Mijnheer de, ik kan dit werkelijk niet begrijpen. De discussies die u hebt gevoerd over de wijzingen in de strategie hebben in 2006 plaatsgevonden, u zegt in juli in een tweedaagse meeting. I did not say that,, what I said was that we have a continuous engagement in the Managing Board on strategy. Vindt u dat het monitoren en mogelijk wijzigen van de strategie een onderdeel is van uw normale taak als commissaris? I agree, and you may be surprised, but I agree.

23 13 Mr. Martinez, u ontkomt er niet aan. Als dat een integraal onderdeel is van uw taken als commissaris denkt u dan dat de decharge tevens slaat op het uitvoeren van die taak als commissaris en hebt u misschien nog achter de tafel zitten een jurist, die wil beweren dat dat geen onderdeel uitmaakt van de decharge? I am quite sure that the discharge that is involved, is as I spoke, it is in respect of all of our Supervisory activities, including the financial reports and operations of the company as well as the decisions that were taken in En het monitoren daarvan, de discussie daarover en het bijsturen van de strategie is wat u betreft niet onderdeel van de taken van de Raad van Commissarissen, waar nu decharge over wordt gevraagd? That is correct. I stick to the annual report. There are many sections that say ambitions It says also events after closing the financial year and I think that there are many elements where I can stick to. My problem is that you are not answering my question. Wat er straks gaat gebeuren is dat als ik bij agendapunt 10 straks ontevreden ben over uw activiteiten en toezicht op de strategie, dat ik niet meer terug kan komen op de uitgebrachte stemmen ten aanzien van decharge van Raad van Bestuur en Raad van Commissarissen. Well, I can tell you that each shareholder has to cast his or her own vote on the subject of the discharge when is arises on the agenda. U hebt een batterij advocaten vandaag klaar om u bij te staan. Is er een van die advocaten bereid om de veronderstelling die u zojuist hebt uitgesproken te onderschrijven?

24 14 I don t think it is necessary to have an attorney do that. These procedures and protocols are well known, it is clear that the discharge relates only to the activities undertaken in Met die zin zou ik het eens kunnen zijn, maar het reviewen van de strategie van ABN AMRO in 2006 valt daar ook onder, valt ook onder de activities of the Supervisory Board in 2006 en ik vroeg niet of het noodzakelijk was dat een advocaat daar een uitspraak over deed, maar of er een advocaat van u bereid was om die stelling van u te onderschrijven. We will not ask them. Are there any more questions with respect to this matter? With respect to 2006? Spreker 3 (VBDO) Ik spreek namens 4000 beleggers van de VBDO (de Vereniging van Beleggers voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling) over een thema dat misschien wat gemakkelijker is voor de bank, het gaat over 2006 en het gaat over duurzaamheid. ABN AMRO heeft het vaandel altijd hooggehouden op dit gebied, daar zijn wij erg blij om en daar willen wij graag een compliment voor maken. Wij onderzoeken ook wat daar van terecht gekomen is en dat hebben wij met name gedaan op het gebied van ketenbeheer en in dit geval hebben wij dat geïnterpreteerd als: aan wat voor soort bedrijven verstrekt ABN AMRO een lening? Ik mag maar één vraag stellen. Ik zal u dan ook niet vragen hoe het zit met de investeringen van het moederbedrijf van TDA die clustermunitie produceert en ik zal ook geen vragen stellen over investeringen in Sachalin II die nogal onder kritiek liggen vanuit de milieubeweging. Ik wil wel een vraag stellen over Lafayette Mining Companies, Lafayette Ltd, een operatie in de Philippijnen. Wij hebben begrepen dat ABN AMRO deel uitmaakt van een syndicaat van banken dat die mijnoperaties financiert en het project is vanaf het begin geplaagd door controverse. Verschillende onderzoeken, door zowel de overheid als non-profit organisaties hebben een hele serie aan serieuze milieu-technische en sociale problemen geïndiceerd, waaronder olielekken, fraude en de beschadiging van fragiele ecosystemen.

25 15 In februari 2007, na zware protesten van een aantal non profit organisaties is de mijn heropend. Wij denken dat ABN AMRO dit voorval heeft beschreven in een duurzaamheidsverslag, maar er staan geen namen bij, dus zeker weten doen wij dit niet. Wij zijn blij met die uitleg, maar wij willen graag vragen wat ABN AMRO nu van plan is in concreto te doen aan die situatie en op welke termijn die situatie verbeterd is. Dank u wel. Mr R.W.J. Groenink: Tot mijn spijt kan ik u op dit moment geen antwoord geven, want ik weet niet precies waar u het over heeft, maar wij zullen het graag uitzoeken en nog gedurende de vergadering zullen wij u laten weten wat de situatie op dit moment is. Spreker 3 (VBDO) Het verbaast mij want wij hebben het hele rapport een aantal weken geleden opgestuurd naar ABN AMRO. Mr R.W.J. Groenink Ik zal niet namens de bank zeggen dat de bank het niet geweten heeft, ik weet het op dit moment niet.wij komen er op terug. Spreker 4 Op bladzijde 13 van het jaarverslag kunt u zien dat het rendement op het eigen vermogen met 2,8 procent gedaald is ten opzichte van Echter, het vermogen waarmee u werkt is met 1,9 miljard toegenomen. Kunt u mij uitleggen, als ik al die mooie cijfers zie met uw rendementen, hoe het kan dat het rendement op het eigen vermogen is gedaald, terwijl het eigen vermogen zelf is gestegen? Dan hebt u toch met meer geld minder rendement gemaakt? Ik verwijs naar het jaarverslag, bladzijde 13. Mr H. Scott Barrett The reason for that is that during the course of 2005 we raised a significant amount of new shares in conjunction with the acquisition of bank Antonveneta. The earning stream and synergies that come through from the acquisition of bank Antonveneta only began at the end of the first quarter of 2006, so the improvement in the returns will only come in future years, once the synergies have been realised. So you see a temporary reduction in return on equity as

26 16 a result of the increase in capital before the earning stream comes through, following on achievement of the synergies, both in terms of revenues and costs. Spreker 5 If we can see you behind the table, it will be courteous to the people in the hall that we can see on the screen the people who ask questions. : Thank you for your suggestions and recommendations, we will take them into account. Spreker 6 Are you aware and do you agree that staff personnel and human resources are part of your financial capital? Well it is a very clear question and I frankly appreciate the clarity of the question. There is no question that in a business that owns no patents, no technology, the people are the asset of this bank. It is also clear that in the course of 2006 the cost-development of the bank in the first half of the year was disappointing to all of us and as part of a response to that restructuring programs were put in place for the second half of 2006 which unfortunately necessitated some lay-offs to produce the kind of productivity and efficiency ratio as we desired. Spreker 6 Last year you stated that 3,500 lay-offs would be the maximum, the optimum. My question was: was the optimum reached? You said: yes. And then you are telling me that two months after that General Meeting of April last year you already decided to make new strategic decisions to lay-off, to make better ratio s, more strain on the people and less staff. That is very fast after the General Meeting, two months later. How come you changed so fast? Mr R.W.J. Groenink Waar wij het vorig jaar over hadden was het programma van IT outsourcing en offshoring en dat heeft dat zich in een aantal fases afgespeeld. In dat kader was het de vraag: zijn wij nu waar wij moeten zijn? Daarop was het antwoord dat wij niet verwachtten dat onder die programma s nog nieuwe afvloeiingen zouden plaatsvinden. Waar u het over heeft zijn

27 17 afvloeiingen die betrekking hebben op andere onderdelen van de bank, namelijk op het hoofdkantoor. Wij moesten toe naar verkleining van het hoofdkantoor. Wij hadden een studie gedaan naar de omvang van ons hoofdkantoor,vergeleken met het hoofdkantoor van andere, vergelijkbare banken. Daar zijn wij tot de conclusie gekomen dat wij te zwaar bezet zijn op ons hoofdkantoor. Wellicht dat u ook nog doelt op een aangekondigde reorganisatie en afvloeiing van mensen bij LaSalle in de Verenigde Staten, waar wij in december 800 mensen hebben moeten laten gaan omdat bij LaSalle de kosten iets te hard gestegen waren ten opzichte van wat de doelstellingen waren en dat wij ook verwachtten dat dit in de toekomst door zou gaan als wij niet zouden ingrijpen. Maar die twee belangrijke ingrepen, die staan los van de vraag die wij vorig jaar beantwoord hebben. Spreker 7 (ABP) Ik ben werkzaam bij ABP Vermogensbeheer. Ik spreek vandaag mede namens PGGM, Robeco, Pensioenfonds voor de Grafische Bedrijven en het bedrijfspensioenfonds voor de Landbouw. U heeft inmiddels twee vragen van aandeelhouders gehad over de vraag of de strategische discussie niet naar voren gehaald kan worden. Ik begrijp uw antwoord dat u zegt dat de strategische discussie niet in het jaarverslag van 2006 staat, maar ik hoop dat u ook van ons begrijpt dat zolang die discussie niet geweest is van agendapunt 10, wij niet kunnen beoordelen of er een relatie is tussen de activiteiten van 2006 en de ontwikkelingen waar ABN AMRO nu voor geplaatst is. Wat is er tegen om de agenda volgorde om te draaien, de agendapunten 10 en 11 eerder te bespreken, voordat wij gaan stemmen? I certainly appreciate the spirit behind your question and I would respectfully ask that we allow the ordinary business of the meeting to go forward. We will provide, as I said, a full and complete opportunity for as much discussion of the current strategic developments as is necessary to answer all your questions. So I would respectfully request that we keep moving forward on the agenda as it has been proposed. Spreker 4 Naar aanleiding van het personele bestand waarover gesproken wordt en wat natuurlijk belangrijk is voor uw onderneming, begrijp ik uw opmerkingen niet qua personele besparing. Als ik zie op bladzijde 3 van het jaarverslag van 2006 dat uw personeel toeneemt met circa

28 man afgerond. Komt dat door de Italiaanse maatschappij? Ik kan niet anders dan dat zo interpreteren. Mr R.W.J. Groenink Dat is een optelsom en een aftreksom van de acquisitie van Antonveneta, bijna man erbij, de verkoop van prime brokerage, de verkoop van de Hongaarse bank en nog een aantal verkopen, waardoor een aantal mensen uit het bestand verdwenen is. Het is een saldo van vertrek en aanname en verkopen en acquisities. Spreker 4 Dat betekent dat uw loonsom is toegenomen. Mr R.W.J. Groenink Ja, want netto hebben wij ook meer mensen in dienst. Spreker 7(ABP) Ik heb nog geen afdoende antwoord gekregen op mijn vraag van zojuist. Ik vroeg wat de bezwaren waren om de volgorde om te draaien en ik heb ook een reden gegeven waarom ik van mening ben dat dat een meer logische volgorde zou zijn. Zolang die discussie niet geweest is, kunnen wij niet beoordelen of de ontwikkelingen waar ABN AMRO nu voor geplaatst is, een relatie hebben met de ontwikkelingen die zich in 2006 hebben afgespeeld. Dan kunnen wij er geen goed oordeel over geven of de jaarrekening en het jaarverslag correct zijn opgemaakt en ook niet op basis waarvan wij nu precies decharge moeten gaan verlenen. I can assure you that the financial statements from 2006 have been fully audited and a qualified opinion has been given by our auditors, which is a key issue in noting the 2006 report. We have an agenda item coming up with respect to adoption of the financial statements on which we will ask all of you to vote.there is no question wether the 2006 accounts are properly recorded and have been properly audited. And I would repeat my answer that we have the opportunity to move through these ordinary business items reasonably quickly and leave very ample time for the discussion of strategy that we intend to have as part of item number 10. No decisions with respect to strategy were made in 2006, they were made in We are not seeking discharge for anything that was not in 2006.