AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -The Dutch government on Thursday said it would sell some of its shares in lender ABN Amro , reducing its stake to around 40%.
The Dutch state currently holds 49.5% of the shares in ABN Amro, one of three dominant banks in the Netherlands, following a bailout in the 2008 financial crisis.
The agency that oversees government investments said it had mandated Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Securities Europe to sell the shares. It did not disclose details on the pricing, or how long the process would take.
The Dutch state sold down its holding in ABN Amro to below 50% earlier this year. It had held a majority stake since the bank's 2015 return to public markets via an initial public offering.
ABN Amro shares traded down 2.2% at 12.25 euros ($13.38) in early trading on Thursday, around 30% below their 2015 introduction price.
($1 = 0.9158 euros)