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The Dutch government said on Tuesday it would reduce its stake in ABN Amro by a quarter to 30% in a deal.
Shares in the Dutch bank fell 1.2% at the open and were last down 0.6% as of 9:15am London time.
The Dutch government, which currently holds 40.5% of ABN AMRO Bank, announced through its investment vehicle NLFI that it will sell shares through a pre-arranged transaction plan executed by Barclays Irish Bank.
In September, the government said it sold about 1.17 billion euros worth of shares, bringing its stake below 50%. It uses some of the proceeds to pay down part of the national debt.
Dutch banks receive state bailout during crisis 2008 financial crisis Privatization followed in 2015.
Finance Minister Eelco Heinen said in a letter to parliament that the lender’s return to the state “is an investment to ensure the stability of the financial system and is not an investment to obtain a return,” reiterating previous concerns that Statement of Government Intent.
Heinen said in September that all remaining shares would have to be sold at 31.49 euros per share in order to recoup total government spending, adding that reaching such a price in 2019 was “unrealistic.”
As of Monday’s close, ABN Amro shares were trading at 15.83 euros.
Stock price rebounds
Recently, the banking industry has been in the spotlight. UniCredit BankA move to take a stake in a German bank Commerzbank It raises questions about cross-border mergers in Europe and the lack of a full banking union in the region.
Governments have been taking advantage of the rebound in stock markets to sell stakes in banks they took over during the financial crisis. The British and German governments have both taken action this year to reduce their respective stakes nativ westminster bank and Commerzbank.
Dutch bank is Takeover speculation Last year, media reported that BNP Paribas was interested in the Dutch bank. At the time, BNP Paribas denied the reports.
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