The mandate represents a significant expansion of the existing relationship between the two companies, which was established in 1998, and demonstrates ABN AMRO Mellon's ability to deliver tailored solutions to the full range of institutional investors in their local markets.

As part of the mandate, 22 F&C Netherlands staff – all professional client and fund administrators – have joined ABN AMRO Mellon's full-time and permanent team based in the Amsterdam office. The mandate will benefit the institution's clients by providing them with the support and technology of a leading global custodian to meet all of their business needs, while enabling F&C Netherlands to focus entirely on asset management activities, which are at the core of their organisation. ABN AMRO Mellon will also be able to provide additional administration capabilities to other clients and prospects, as an additional value-added service to global custody mandates.

Henk Breukink, Country Head and Director of F&C Netherlands B.V., said of the mandate, "This appointment reflects a natural evolution of the excellent partnership we have had with ABN AMRO Mellon since 1998. It is also further recognition of the success and quality we attribute to their expertise in the Dutch marketplace, their local language team and offices, and their ability to anticipate and deliver on our investment requirements. It provides us with the scale we require, and the scope to meet our future needs. Over the last year we have worked superbly together to create a tailored solution that integrates seamlessly with our back-office systems, and we believe it is second-to-none in the marketplace."

Nadine Chakar, CEO of ABN AMRO Mellon, added, "F&C Netherlands is a well regarded European financial services company and a premier player in the Dutch asset management market., and I believe we at ABN AMRO Mellon complement their strengths by our service reputation to deliver tailored solutions, while also providing the scale necessary for major institutional investors. Being the only European global custodian with a worldwide reach - whose European headquarters, home market and operations to service them are also based in The Netherlands - has also been instrumental to taking a great step forward in our partnership with F&C Netherlands, and provides an even stronger platform upon which to provide tailored value-added solutions to their business."