Dutch agency: all approvals in, ABN Amro listing to proceed

AMSTERDAM-State-owned Dutch bank ABN Amro Group NV will be returned to private hands, with its initial public offering slated to be launched in the fourth quarter.

ABN Amro was nationalised in 2008 after a botched takeover by a consortium of three banks.

The government has held the reigns ever since at the bank, now valued at around 15 billion euros ($16.5 billion).

The flotation has been approved by parliament and both the Dutch and European central banks say they have no objections to the sale.

RBS, then led by disgraced chief executive Fred Goodwin, fought off Barclays to win control ABN with a £49 billion bid in 2007, in combination with Belgo-Dutch bank Fortis and Spain’s Santander.

The bank plans to pay half of financial year 2017’s profits as dividend, based on the assumption that the Dutch economy will continue to recover and the bank’s costs can further be reduced.

The Dutch government has said it aims to sell as much as 30% of ABN, potentially by the end of the year, and has signalled that the bank is worth around €15 billion.

The Netherland’s third-largest bank after ING and Rabobank, ABN Amro traces its roots back to the 19th century.

Dijsselbloem in March delayed the bank’s privatisation, which had been expected in the first quarter of this year, because of public anger over salary hikes for its board of directors.