ABN Amro apologises for historical links to slavery

Dutch bank says sorry for pain and suffering' caused by past actions and activities of its predecessor firms

The Dutch bank ABN Amro has apologised for its predecessors' role in the slave trade, after it commissioned an investigation into the untold suffering" it caused.

The investigation, by academics at the International Institute of Social History (IISH), an Amsterdam archive, found that two of ABN Amro's predecessor companies were involved in either financing the operation of slave plantations directly, or underwriting the trade in products produced by slaves.