MeesPierson is a Netherlands-based private bank

Private banking

Private banking is banking, investment and other financial services provided by banks to private individuals investing sizable assets. The term "private" refers to the customer service being rendered on a more personal basis than in mass-market retail banking, usually via dedicated bank advisers...

 headquartered in Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

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Until 2009, the bank was known as Fortis MeesPierson. The name derives from the merger of merchant bank

Merchant bank

A merchant bank is a financial institution which provides capital to companies in the form of share ownership instead of loans. A merchant bank also provides advisory on corporate matters to the firms they lend to....

s Mees & Hope

Hope & Co.

Hope & Co. is the name of a famous Dutch bank that spanned two and a half centuries. Though the founders were Scotsmen, the bank was located in Amsterdam, and at the close of the 18th century it had offices in London as well.-Early days:...

 (from 1720) and Pierson, Heldring & Pierson (from 1875). In 1997, Fortis bank

Fortis (finance)

Fortis N.V./S.A. was a company active in insurance, banking and investment management. In 2007 it was the 20th largest business in the world by revenue but after encountering severe problems in the financial crisis of 2008, most of the company was sold in parts, with only insurance activities...

 acquired MeesPierson from ABN AMRO

ABN AMRO

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. is a Dutch state-owned bank with headquarters in Amsterdam. It was re-established, in its current form, in 2009 following the acquisition and break up of ABN AMRO Group by a banking consortium consisting of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Santander and Fortis...

 and, in 2005, changed its name to Fortis MeesPierson. The initial plan was to incorporate the name into Fortis Private Banking but this plan was never realised because of the strong brand MeesPierson. According to some sources the board of directors decided not to change the name under pressure of the wealthy clients. As a result of the nationalization of Fortis Bank Nederland

Fortis Bank Nederland

Fortis Bank Nederland was a bank in the Netherlands until 2010.The holding came into being within Fortis Bank, as a holding for those Dutch banks taken over by Fortis...

 in October 2008, Fortis MeesPierson once again changed its name to MeesPierson in 2009.

MeesPierson is also known for being the Dutch royal family's bankers