AU
Local ABN employees buy into the firm
2 August 2006
Anonymous
Employees of ABN AMRO’s Australian operations have become part owners of the company.
ABN AMRO’s Australian staff are set to buy out 25% of the equity in the local business, according to The Australian.
The paper says all staff at the bank have received a share of equity, with each receiving $1,000 of shares per year of service and senior staff having the option to buy more.
ABN’s Australian operation is following in the footsteps of US banks like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, where bankers own a large proportion of the equity in the firm. Similarly, employees at Australia-based Babcock & Brown own around 50% of the company’s stock.
Angus James, chief executive of ABN AMRO Australia said there is a competitive advantage to being locally managed. "Australia and New Zealand have got a different dynamic from the rest of the world,” he was quoted as saying in The Australian.
