The Dutch government is set to reduce its stake in major lender ABN Amro from 20.7 per cent to 10.5 per cent in its fifth consecutive trading plan.

The move is part of a long-term aim by the country to reduce its holdings in the bank, which was nationalised following the 2008 financial crisis.

The shares are held for the Dutch government by Netherlands Financial Investments (NLFI), a non-profit which exists to prevent the operation of the bank from being subject to political influence.

ABN Amro said that NLFI will retain its relationship agreement, which grants rights to certain information to the state, with the bank until its holdings fall below 10 per cent.

The trading plan is the fifth sell-off of shares in a row since the bank went public in 2015. It will remain in place until the maximum number of depositary receipts have been sold through open-market sales. Its previous plan lasted for almost a year.

The depositary receipts are issued by a private foundation that holds ABN Amro’s underlying shares, and grant the holder largely the same economic rights as shareholders.

They are not exactly the same, however. Structuring the sell-off in this way protects the bank from a hostile takeover as the foundation has the right to temporarily restrict voting rights in the event of a hostile bid.

Meanwhile, the bank has taken steps to ensure its digital sovereignty and invest in developing its internal systems. In August, ABN Amro signed a deal with French AI company Mistral to develop AI-powered solutions for the bank and reduce its reliance on non-European technology providers.

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