The Netherlands government-owned ABN Amro may not be privatized until the second half of 2015, according to the country’s finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem. He said he would likely send to parliament a letter before the end of March recommending that the bank seek a stock market listing. He, however, confirmed the government is firm on selling ABN Amri again, reiterating the cabinet’s longstanding intention to seek an IPO. The Netherlands nationalized ABN Amro in October 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, in an operation that eventually cost the government 28 billion euros ($30 billion). In February, the bank reported full-year 2014 underlying profit of 1.55 billion euros and year-end equity of 14.9 billion euros.
