After provisioning for remaining risks and costs related to both transactions, ABN Amro expects to book a net gain on the sale of at least euro 350 million ($446.9 million). Both transactions are subject to the approval of the relevant supervisory and competition authorities and councils and are expected to close before the end of the year. The transaction with Rabobank concerns Bouwfonds Property Development, Bouwfonds Asset Management, Bouwfonds Fondsenbeheer, Rijnlandse Bank and Bouwfonds Holding.

Sources close to the Rabobank deal say that another consortium including Lehman Brothers and Cerberus were also in the running but Blackstone, which initially approached Amro last year, had withdrawn from the bidding.

Bouwfonds is unusual in that it combines elements of a developer with that of a bank--a bank that has euro 7 billion ($8.9 billion) of outstanding real estate loans. The rest of the business is thought to have direct property assets worth more than euro 5 billion ($6.4 billion) through its housebuilder division and asset management business.