UK - ABN Amro Mellon says it is going to open a trustee and depositary services practice in London by the end of the year.

Chief commercial officer Paolo Sousa told a briefing that the move comes as the company – a joint venture between ABN Amro and Mellon Financial - implements its 2004 targets, which included opening a depotbank operation in Frankfurt last January.

The new London practice will be headed by John Morris, described by Sousa as a “custody legend”.

Morris, who joined ABN AMRO Mellon a month ago, helped Citigroup establish its presence in the trustee market in London. Morris said the venture was a new area for the firm and would close the “missing link” in its services.

The new practice would enable it to “better service” the fund management community.

“I am going to hire a team of people who will be experts in this particular area,” he said, adding: “We should be up and running within the fourth quarter of this year.” He told IPE the team might consist of five members.

Sousa told IPE that ABN Amro Mellon wanted to be present in Luxembourg and Asia in 2005, but added that further discussing next year’s targets would be “premature”.

Jack Klinck, Mellon Europe’s chairman said the company had “a big interest” in the Netherlands, a “significant presence” in Dublin, and was interested in Scandinavia and Luxembourg.