Dutch-Belgian financial services group Fortis said on Tuesday night that the Dutch central bank will not make a decision on the approval of the sale of ABN Amro assets valued at €709m to Deutsche Bank, pending further review.

The central bank ‘referred to the exceptional circumstances on international financial markets, the uncertainty with regard to the future shareholder in ABN Amro bank and the implications of this uncertainty for all parties involved’, Fortis said in a statement.
The sale, agreed this summer, had been ordered by the European Commission in return for its approval of Fortis’ partial takeover of ABN Amro.
This weekend, the Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourg governments agreed to pump €11.2bn into Fortis in a partial nationalisation of the company after its share price plummeted. Part of this rescue bid includes the sale of ABN Amro Nederland to a third party.
Ping An
In addition, Fortis said that it ‘does not expect’ to be able to complete the asset management partnership signed before the summer with China’s Ping An.
Ping An had agreed to invest €2.15bn in buying half of Fortis’ asset management division. Ping An also has a 5% stake in the Fortis group.
Fortis also said it has taken over the remaining shares in British asset management firm Artemis for almost €400m. It inherited a 67% stake in Artemis from ABN Amro.