Dutch government to reduce its stake in ABN Amro by a quarter

The Dutch government on Tuesday said it will reduce its stake in lender ABN Amro by a quarter to 30% through a trading plan.

Shares of the Dutch bank traded 1.2% lower at the market open and was last down 0.6% as of 9:15 a.m. London time.

The Dutch government, which currently holds a 40.5% interest in ABN Amro, announced via its investment vehicle firm NLFI that it will sell shares using a pre-arranged trading plan set to be executed by Barclays Bank Ireland.

ABN Amro was bailed out by the state during the 2008 financial crisis and later privatized in 2015. The government started reducing its shareholding in the firm last year.

The banking sector has been in the spotlight of late, after UniCredit‘s move to take a stake in German lender Commerzbank sparked questions on cross-border mergers in Europe and the lack of a complete banking union in the region.

Governments have been capitalizing on a rebound in shares to sell their shareholdings in banks that were taken over during the financial crisis. The U.K. and German administrations have both made moves this year to reduce their respective shareholdings in NatWest and Commerzbank.

This breaking news story is being updated.