The Dutch government's rescue of ABN Amro Bank NV in 2008 has resulted in a taxpayer burden of €6.7 billion ($7.1 billion), according to Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag on Tuesday. The government's stake in the bank, which was reduced to 49.5% as part of a shift towards private ownership, can't recover the original bailout cost of €21.7 billion unless ABN Amro’s shares more than double in price.
The government, which re-listed the bank in November 2015, recently sold a portion of its stake, yielding €842.3 million from the sale and an additional €281.3 million from ABN Amro’s share buyback program this year. Despite these measures, Minister Kaag stated that waiting for a significant rise in share prices is unrealistic considering the state's non-investment role.
The NLFI, tasked with managing the government’s stake, considers ABN Amro’s share price competitive when compared with its peers. However, future major decisions regarding the bank are currently on hold due to political instability following the collapse of Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s coalition government and upcoming elections.
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