AABN AMRO, an Amsterdam-based banking group, operates over 3,000 branches in three business units around the globe, with assets totaling approximately $1 trillion. Its wholesale banking segment operates global investment and corporate banking activities for business and institutional clients. The consumer and commercial segment is responsible for retail and small to medium-sized enterprise banking activities. ABN AMRO also provides banking, investment and asset management services for private clients of high net worth. These three fundamental units represent a change in operating strategy for the company, as it has recently analyzed its operations for maximum profitability. ABN AMRO’s major subsidiaries include LaSalle Bank, based in Chicago; Standard Federal Bank, headquartered in Troy, Michigan; and Banco Real, one of Brazil’s largest banks. In its plans for the near future, the bank will be concentrating most of its efforts in Europe, where the introduction of the Euro and the convergence of the financial markets, as well as the increasing trend of consolidation in financial businesses such as banking, asset management and insurance, have kept ABN AMRO on its toes. In March 2005, ABN AMRO acquired Bank Corluy, a Belgium-based banking firm, and followed the acquisition in April 2005 with the divestiture of Nachenius, Tjeenk & Co., a private banking branch of the firm. In July 2005, ABN AMRO acquired Priory Group, an independent provider of mental health care and specialist education services in the U.K.