Sale of ABN Amro units higher than reported

Friday 04 December 2009

ABN Amro could lose up to €1.6bn, considerably more than the government has reported, on its forced sale of units to Deutsche Bank, according to calculations by the general audit office, report various media on Friday.

Finance minister Wouter Bos has told parliament that the transaction, including the sale of HBU, would cost ABN Amro €1.1bn. An investigation by the audit office into the sale and events leading up to it was called for by MPs who have to approve the deal.

The audit office looked at two calculations for the price of HBU, one from the ABN Amro itself and one from an external consultant, says the Volkskrant. Bos opted for the more favourable estimate presented by the bank.

ABN Amro was nationalised by the Dutch government last year after their Dutch-Belgian parent company Fortis came close to collapse. The sale of two units of the ABN Amro bank was ordered by the European Commission as a precondition for the merger of the bank with Fortis Bank Nederland.

According to the Financieele Dagblad, the audit office agrees with the ministry that the loss can be compensated for with the advantages of integrating ABN Amro and Fortis. The €4bn saving Bos expects this to generate is possibly too ‘optimstic’ but will still be higher than the loss booked on the sale of the two units ordered by the EC, says the audit office.

The Dutch government paid €16.8bn for the takeover of ABN Amro in 2008 and has since pumped in another €12bn into the bank.

© DutchNews.nl

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