ABN Amro is set to acquire Banco CR2, a privately-owned commercial bank based in Brazil to offer on-shore products to its clients in the energy, commodities and transportation (ECT) sector.

A spokesperson at ABN Amro tells GTR that the acquisition is a result of the changing regulations in Brazil which now determine that banks dealing with on-shore activities need to hold a Brazilian banking licence.

“This is a very small acquisition. We have absolutely no intentions of expanding our current business in Brazil. Until now ABN Amro was active with its ECT-business in Brazil. We were present with a representative office that operated under a Dutch banking licence. This acquisition is the quickest way to get a banking licence in Brazil in order to continue our current ECT-services to our customers.”

The bank’s ECT business is its biggest offering in Brazil.