The Dutch state is pursuing parallel tracks to sell the commercial banking arms of either ABN Amro or Fortis Bank Nederland in an effort to satisfy European competition regulators that a merger between the two state-owned banks should be allowed to go ahead.

Both FBN and ABN were nationalised late last year and are due to be merged ahead of a planned privatisation in or after 2011, but the European Commission has said it would block such a merger on competition grounds unless divestments are made.