GLOBAL - Dutch bank ABN Amro has completed the sale of its 50% stake in ABN AMRO Mellon Global Securities Services to the Bank of New York Mellon.

Sale of the joint venture was first announced in July but has now received approval from the Dutch regulator De NederlandscheBank (DNB).

Existing clients will remain contracted to the firm under the new name of BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, which becomes part of the asset servicing division of BNY Mellon, and all ABN Amro Mellon staff at the company's operations worldwide will remain contracted to the business.

The joint venture between ABN Amro and Mellon was established in 2003 to provide global custody and related services to institutions outside North America.

But following the merger with BNY in July, Mellon appeared to be "keen to explore the possibility of taking full ownership of ABN Amro Mellon".

Full terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but the bank will continue to be headquartered in Amsterdam and regulated by DNB while Nadine Chakar, chief executive of ABN AMRO Mellon, will take up a new position as chair of the supervisory board of BNY Mellon Asset Servicing.

Pim Nederpel, currently chief financial officer at ABN AMRO Mellon, will become the new CEO of BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, however the bank's existing managing board structure will remain in place.

Chakar said: "I want to stress that continuity - of people, products, technology and service levels - remains our priority. This deal is about moving the company to the next level, and there is a clear and logical fit between ABN AMRO Mellon's activities and the capabilities of the BNY Mellon Asset Servicing line of business."

The completion of the sale follows ABN AMRO's announcement earlier this month it will "discontinue" ABN AMRO Rothschild, its international equity capital markets joint venture, from 31 December, after the takeover of the bank by a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis and Banco Santander triggered a review of both companies' business objectives.

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