Sofinco Aquires Interbank and DMC Group from ABN Amro

SOFINCO entered into an agreement with ABN AMRO to acquire the total capital of INTERBANK N.V. and DMC Groep N.V. companies. INTERBANK N.V. is the largest specialized credit provider in the Netherlands. INTERBANK N.V products are distributed through a brokers network. At year end 2006, It achieved EUR 2 bln outstanding. DMC Groep N.V. is the third largest broker specialized in consumer credit with a "intermediated" portfolio of EUR 217 mln at year end 2006.

Already operating in the Netherlands with RIBANK N.V., a fully-owned company, SOFINCO is accelerating its development on the Dutch market, becoming the first local specialized company in consumer credit, with a market share growing from 3% to 14%. The transaction will offer SOFINCO the opportunity to strengthen its expertise in distributing consumer credit through a brokers’ network, and to improve its performance thanks to potential synergies between both branches, with the contribution of SOFINCO’s specific know how. SOFINCO is willing to pursue and to develop INTERBANK’s strategy in relation to independent brokers. The acquisition is now to be reviewed by Dutch National Bank and should be effective before year-end.