ABN Amro bank is likely to be sold off in its entirety when the government privatises it, rather than divested in tranches, the Financieele Dagblad said on Tuesday.

Finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem is due to decide on the future of the bank later this week. ABN Amro was nationalised in 2008 after its abortive takeover by a consortium of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland.

At a Labour party meeting in Amsterdam on Monday evening, Dijsselbloem said it is crucial to ensure that the banking crisis of 2008 cannot happen again.

Trading

Banks need to be more solidly financed, regulation must be better and banks should limit themselves to their key role. This means they should not be able to trade or speculate in shares or derivatives on their own account, the Labour minister said.

‘I can guarantee this without being a shareholder,’ Dijsselbloem said in answer to a question from the floor.

Last week, the NRC said Labour and Christian Democratic MPs want the government to retain a stake in ABN Amro and may be able to block the sale.