The contracts with Infosys and TCS are for application support and enhancements to the bank. Both companies will be allocated the maintenance of selected applications across ABN Amro''s business units. The implementation of the agreements will be phased over 18 months.

In addition, ABN AMRO has chosen Accenture, IBM, Infosys, Patni and TCS as its preferred vendors to develop new applications across all business units of the bank.

The five-year outsourcing contract with IBM is for overseeing IT infrastructure services for the bank world-wide, except the bank''s ''wholesale clients business unit'', which was outsourced to EDS in 2003. Under the agreement, IBM is expected to assume management of the majority of ABN AMRO''s global IT systems, including servers, storage systems and desktops. The service commencement date for the IT infrastructure services is 1 November 2005.

This IT service solution encompasses in-house consolidation, partial outsourcing, multi-vendor strategies and offshoring for streamlining of the bank''s global IT organisation. The Dutch group''s initiative is intended to create a new technology organisation of approximately 1,800 full-time equivalents (FTEs), compared to a total of approximately 5,000 FTEs currently working in IT within the bank world-wide. Approximately 2,000 FTEs will be transferred to the selected IT vendors, of which a majority will go to IBM.

The bank expects to reduce its IT staff by 1,500 over the next 18 months.

The outsourcing exercise, called the ''group shared services'' (GSS) programme, is aimed at creating value across the Dutch conglomerate through higher operational efficiency, optimising operational risk and increased flexibility.

The GSS IT initiative is expected to generate at least €258 million in savings annually from 2007 excluding savings from its EDS contracts.

Combined with its other savings related initiatives like offshoring, HR, real estate, the total savings are expected to exceed €600 million from 2007 onwards.

Hugh Scott-Barrett, Chief Operating Officer and member of ABN AMRO''s managing board said: "This major IT initiative enables us to deliver the ''fuel for growth'' to support the required sustainable competitive growth for the bank. The agreements with selected vendors allow us to utilise the latest technology to further improve the services we offer our clients. We expect that this IT programme that is shared across the Group will contribute to the savings in line with earlier estimates made by the bank, while improving IT services within the Group."