AMSTERDAM- Dutch bank ABN Amro on Wednesday apologized for the role of its legal predecessors in the slave trade, plantation slavery and the trade in products that originated in slavery during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The lender asked independent researchers in 2020 to investigate its own past in light of the global debate about systemic racism and the inequality faced by Black people.

The Dutch central bank earlier this year said it "deeply regretted" the role many of its early directors played in the 19th century slave trade.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Jan Harvey)