THE Netherlands largest bank ABN AMRO Holding said yesterday that management board member, Mr Louis de Bievre, had resigned due to his indirect involvement in a case of insider share trading by his wife.

"This case refers to a situation whereby Mr de Bievre's wife in 1992 traded in shares of a listed company at a time when she was aware of certain specific information related to this company based upon remarks made by her husband," ABN AMRO said.

The news is a major embarrassment for ABN AMRO, where Mr de Bievre was in charge of investment banking, and for the Amsterdam bourse where he had been a board member. ABN AMRO said that Mr de Bievre had informed ABN AMRO chairman, Mr Jan Kalff, about the case on Tuesday.

The bank said in subsequent contacts between the public prosecutor and ABN AMRO's management board, the prosecutor had stated that Mr de Bievre's wife alone was guilty of insider trading.