{{Short description|Former Dutch bank}} {{Infobox company | name = Rotterdamsche Bank | logo = | logo_caption = | former_name = Rotterdamsche Bankvereeniging (1911–1947) | type = Bank | industry = Banking, financial services | founded = 16 May 1863 | founder = | defunct = 1964 | fate = Merged with Amsterdamsche Bank | successor = AMRO Bank | headquarters = Rotterdam, Netherlands | area_served = Netherlands }} [[File:Forum Rotterdam - Rotterdamsche Bank 2022 01.jpg|thumb|{{ill|Rotterdamsche Bank (Rotterdam){{!}}Former head office|nl|Rotterdamsche Bank (Rotterdam)}} of the Rotterdamsche Bank on Coolsingel, Rotterdam, built 1941-1949<ref name=Robaver/>]]
The '''Rotterdamsche Bank''', known from 1911 to 1947 as '''Rotterdamsche Bankvereeniging''' or '''Robaver''',<ref name=Robaver>{{cite web |website=Post-war reconstruction Community Rotterdam |url=https://wederopbouwrotterdam.nl/en/articles/rotterdamsche-bank |title=Rotterdamsche Bank}}</ref> was a significant bank in the Netherlands, founded in 1863. In 1964, it merged with Amsterdamsche Bank to form AMRO Bank (for AMsterdamsche & ROtterdamsche).<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=New York Times |title=Bigness Sought by Dutch Banks; Merger of 4 Units Into Two Aimed at Competition |date={{date|1964/07/06}} |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/06/archives/bigness-sought-by-duth-banks-merger-of-4-units-into-two-aimed-at.html }}</ref>
==Overview==
The Rotterdamsche Bank was established on {{date|1863/05/16}} by a group of businessmen and bankers, who took inspiration from the British Colonial Bank and aimed at financing trade and investment in the Dutch East Indies. After a difficult start, however, the bank soon focused on domestic business.<ref name=ROFlyer>{{citation |url=https://assets.ctfassets.net/1u811bvgvthc/FtNRhVnYvvVW4LUmJRe2w/8bd90ca70b004245c5b47767c9d2dd0d/Rotterdamsche_bank__UK_.pdf |author=ABN AMRO Historisch Archief |title=Rotterdamsche Bank, 1863-1964}}</ref>
Between 1911 and 1947, it was known as the Union Bank of Rotterdam ({{langx|nl|Rotterdamsche Bank Vereeniging}}, abbreviated as Robaver), following its 1911 acquisition of Rotterdam competitor {{lang|nl|Deposito- en Administratie Bank}} (est. 1900) and soon afterwards of Amsterdam brokers {{lang|nl|Determeijer Weslingh & Zn.}} (est. 1765). Under the leadership of its ambitious managing director, {{ill|Willem Westerman|nl}}, it acquired several local banks.<ref name=ABNA>{{cite web |website=ABN Amro |title=Our History |url=https://www.abnamro.com/en/information/our-history?selectedTabs=Our%20History%20timeline }}</ref> Still, it became overextended and had to be restructured under the aegis of De Nederlandsche Bank in the mid-1920s. In 1928, it created the {{ill|Vrouwenbank|nl}} ("Women's Bank"), a bank targeted at a female customer base that lasted until 1971.<ref name=ABNA/>
In 1960, Rotterdamsche Bank acquired Nationale Handelsbank, a major former colonial bank known until 1950 as the Dutch-Indian Trade Bank ({{langx|nl|Nederlandsch-Indische Handelsbank}}, NIHB; est. 1863).<ref name=ROFlyer/>
==Gallery==
<gallery> File:De Rotterdamsche Bank bij de Boompjes 1903 - 1907.jpg|Pre-World War II Rotterdamsche Bank head office on the {{ill|Boompjes|nl}} waterfront thoroughfare, ca. 1905 File:Overzicht - Amsterdam - 20020528 - RCE.jpg|Branch on Rokin in Amsterdam, 1979 (demolished since then) File:ABN Amro Kneuterdijk.JPG|Former branch building at Kneuterdijk 8, The Hague File:Rotterdamsche Bank Oosthaven Gouda.jpg|{{ill|Rotterdamsche Bank (Gouda){{!}}Former branch building|nl|Rotterdamsche Bank (Gouda)}} in Gouda File:Rotterdam, de voormalige Rotterdamsche Bank aan de Coolsingel RM530919 - nu ABN Amrobank foto72016-02-28 10.21.jpg|The Rotterdamsche Bank building on Coolsingel constructed in 1941 </gallery>
==See also== {{Portal|Banks}} * Rabobank * List of banks in the Netherlands
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Defunct banks of the Netherlands Category:Banks established in 1863 Category:ABN AMRO
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