Nationalised bank ABN Amro is to be sold off in several blocks and the first bundle of shares will likely be floated in the final quarter of this year, the Dutch cabinet has agreed.

ABN Amro was nationalised in 2008 following its takeover by a consortium of other banks. The state hopes to earn €15bn from the sale, less than half the total bill for its rescue.

Finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem was due to announce the date for the IPO in March and insiders expected the launch would be before the summer. However, the row over the bank’s decision to give €100,000 pay rises to senior executives to get around the new limit on bonuses prompted a rethink.

Dijsselbloem said at the time an IPO required ‘a period of calm and confidence’. Those conditions have now been met, the minister is quoted by Nos as saying on Friday. The bank is able to stand on its own two feet, the financial markets are stable and there is a sufficient number of interested buyers, he said.

In order to prevent a hostile takeover, the government plans to erect a number of takeover defences, Dijsselbloem said.

As long as the Dutch state owns one-third of the shares, it will have right of veto over important decisions. Once the state is no longer a controlling shareholder, additional defences will be introduced, the Financieele Dagblad says.

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