Update: ABN Amro to be listed in stages, according to Dutch media reports

[AMSTERDAM] Dutch bank ABN Amro, nationalised after the financial crisis, should start its return to market this year with the sale of a first tranche of up to 30 per cent of its shares, the government decided on Friday, according to Dutch media.

Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the first "real chance" of an initial public offering for the bank was in October or November, but that the offering could be delayed until 2016, De Telegraaf newspaper reported.

The sale of the first tranche was likely to raise between 3 billion and 4.5 billion euros, which would be spent on paying down the national debt, the newspaper added.

The decision paves the way for one of the largest bank flotations in years - ABN Amro had a book value of 14.9 billion euros at the end of 2014 - and marks a milestone in Europe's long recovery from the financial crisis of 2008.

REUTERS