Nationalised Dutch financial services group SNS Reaal’s property financing arm is to be hived off into a bad bank as part of a split-up of its banking and insurance activities, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
Nationalised Dutch financial services group SNS Reaal’s property financing arm is to be hived off into a bad bank as part of a split-up of its banking and insurance activities, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
SNS Reaal was nationalised in February after running into financial problems caused by its property investments. In total, the bailout of the bank cost the Dutch taxpayer €4.8 bn.
The commission has approved plans submitted by the Dutch government in August under which SNS Bank will become an independent entity focusing on retail activities while the insurance side, Zwitserleven, will be sold off.
The restructuring was a prerequisite for European Commission approval of SNS Reaal's bailout. 'The Commission has concluded that the aid measures granted by the Dutch state to SNS Reaal are in line with its rules on state aid for the restructuring of banks during the crisis,' the commission said.
Read the full European Commission statement in the link below.