(Update: precision on the participation of the Dutch State, reaction of the Ministry of Finance, reaction on the Stock Exchange, context)
PARIS (Agefi-Dow Jones)–BNP Paribas bank has expressed interest in a potential acquisition of its Dutch competitor ABN Amro from the Dutch government, Bloomberg reported on Friday citing unnamed sources.
The first listed French bank recently contacted the Dutch government for a meeting and discussed its interest in a transaction, according to the news agency. The Dutch state had nationalized ABN Amro in 2008, during the financial crisis, and holds a 56.3% stake in the Dutch establishment.
Also according to Bloomberg, the Dutch government is not seriously considering the French bank’s interest at this time, and BNP Paribas’ preliminary contact has not evolved into detailed negotiations. The state may prefer to sell shares on the market, which would allow it to raise funds while retaining some control, according to one of the agency’s sources.
Contacted by the Agefi-Dow Jones agency, a spokeswoman for BNP Paribas did not comment. “We do not comment on market rumours,” said an ABN Amro spokeswoman.
In a statement issued to the media, the Dutch finance ministry said it could not make “a public announcement regarding specific considerations for the sale of the stake in ABN Amro”. “Since the ministry has a stake in ABN Amro, it has been talking regularly with various stakeholders on a wide range of topics related to this stake,” he added.
The Ministry of Finance also indicated that it had recently informed Parliament that it had asked NLFI – the structure that holds the Dutch state’s stake in the bank – to advise it on potential disposals of ABN Amro shares.
On the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, ABN Amro took 9.7% to 11.26 euros, while in Paris, BNP Paribas won 1% to 47.99 euros around 3:10 p.m.
Regulation more conducive to consolidation
The French bank is regularly cited as a potential candidate for a major acquisition in Europe. It had bought the Italian BNL in 2006, then the Belgian Fortis in 2008. In private as well as in public, its leaders are however skeptical of the idea of cross-border mergers, explaining in particular that the regulations adopted after the financial crisis discourage this type of movements. A takeover of ABN Amro would not correspond to the strategy it has been following for years. BNP Paribas prefers to carry out small acquisitions in certain businesses, such as with Floa Banque or Nickel, or to form partnerships.
Anxious to promote the consolidation and restructuring of the European banking sector, regulators are beginning to soften their position. The Basel Committee, the international banking standard setter, thus adopted a new rule at the end of May for systemic banks in the euro zone: they will now be able to benefit from a more advantageous framework for calculating their capital requirements when they are established in several countries in the region.
ABN Amro left a bad memory for supporters of cross-border mergers and acquisitions in the banking sector. In 2007, the Dutch bank found itself at the heart of a stock market battle between Barclays and Fortis. The Belgian bank, supported by Santander, had taken the piece just before the start of the financial crisis, a poisoned gift which had precipitated its fall a year later. The resale at the same time of the Italian subsidiary of ABN Amro to Monte dei Paschi di Siena also contributed to the financial difficulties of the Tuscan bank.
-Julien Marion, Agefi-Dow Jones, and Alexandre Garabedian, L’Agefi; +33 (0)1 41 27 47 94; [email protected] ed: VLV
Website: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-17/bnp-paribas-interested-in-buying-state-owned-abn-amro
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June 17, 2022 09:13 ET (13:13 GMT)