By Maarten van Tartwijk
AMSTERDAM--The Netherlands Wednesday said it will launch an
auction to sell a portfolio of U.S. mortgage-backed securities
which it acquired from Dutch bank ING Groep NV (ING) at the height
of the financial crisis.
The Dutch State Treasury Agency, which is in charge of the sale,
said it expects to sell the assets within 12 months. The decision
to launch the auction was based on "the continued improvement in
the U.S. housing market and a high level of interest by investors,"
it said in a statement.
The Dutch government became the owner of the assets in 2009
after it struck a deal with ING to take over 80% of the risks on a
portfolio of U.S. mortgage-backed securities. The portfolio landed
ING in deep trouble amid fears of hefty losses caused by the U.S.
housing bust.
The portfolio was mainly made up of so-called Alt-A loans, for
which borrowers often had to produce little evidence of income or
assets.
In November, the government reached agreement with ING to unwind
the facility and that it expects to make a gain of 400 million
euros ($543.6 million) on an eventual sale. BlackRock Solutions
will execute the sale process.
At the end of September, the portfolio's nominal value was EUR9
billion, down from EUR24 billion since the start of the facility in
early 2009.
Write to Maarten van Tartwijk at maarten.vantartwijk@wsj.com
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