ABN AMRO today announced that it will not enter the 2008/9 Volvo Ocean Race.

ABN AMRO’s participation with two boats in the 2005/6 round-the-world race was a huge sporting and marketing success. This was ABN AMRO’s first global sponsorship project aimed at uniting the worldwide territories of the bank, raising global awareness of the brand and introducing the global tagline ‘Making more possible’.

ABN AMRO ONE achieved overall race victory when it arrived in Gothenburg on 17 June 2006 with six offshore leg wins out of nine, and five out of seven in-port race victories. This was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding performances in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race. ABN AMRO TWO finished in an impressive fourth place overall, as well as breaking the world 24-hour speed record during the event.

The campaign’s primary objectives were to involve employees from all key territories around the world, achieve worldwide brand exposure, create a platform for client hospitality, communicate the core values of the bank to a global audience, and win the race. All objectives were achieved during the race.

Jan Berent Heukensfeldt Jansen, Managing Director of TEAM ABN AMRO commented: “The Volvo Ocean Race has been a great marketing platform for us and its impact will continue long into the future. We entered the Volvo Ocean Race as a three-year, one-off campaign to meet specific objectives, promoting the unity and strength of the ABN AMRO brand to a global audience. We did everything we could to win the race, and with a combination of teamwork and professionalism TEAM ABN AMRO travelled the world reflecting all that the bank stands for. The results of the campaign confirm that all our objectives have been met, which is largely thanks to the outstanding effort made by the large number of people involved. The Volvo Ocean Race is a unique event with a global following, and one which we are very proud to have been part of.”