(Reuters) -Belgian lender KBC Group is mulling a potential acquisition of Dutch rival ABN Amro Bank, as it looks to bolster its European footprint, Bloomberg News said on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. KBC Group and ABN Amro Bank did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comments.
Brussels-based KBC is in the early stages of considering the feasibility of a deal, the report added.
ABN is currently valued at 21.56 billion euros ($25.38 billion) and KBC at 39.88 billion euros, according to LSEG data.
ABN Amro, one of the three leading banks in the Netherlands, was nationalized during the 2008 financial crisis and subsequently re-privatized in 2015.
Earlier this month, The Netherlands cut its stake in ABN AMRO to about 20% from 30.5% previously, as part of a trading plan aimed at reducing the state’s stake in the bank.
($1 = 0.8493 euros)
(Reporting by Yazhini MV in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shinjini Ganguli)
