Friesland Bank mulls sale Van Lanschot stake - paper

AMSTERDAM, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Dutch unlisted financial group Friesland Bank [FRIBK.UL] may sell a 22 percent stake it holds in private bank Van Lanschot (VLAN.AS) to prevent potential problems with its solvency under new banking rules, its chief executive told a Dutch newspaper.

"If we don't do anything, by 2018 there could be a problem with our tier-1 ratio. But it is a soluble problem," Chief Executive Kees Beuving was quoted as saying by Dutch daily het Financieele Dagblad.

A spokeswoman for Friesland Bank confirmed the report but added that it did not require action in the near-term.

"We are always looking at our investments but it is right that our holdings in Van Lanschot could become an issue under Basel III. That is not now but long-term," the spokeswoman said.

Last year Friesland Bank and Van Lanschot did not extend their shareholding agreement to give Friesland Bank more freedom to deal with its position. [ID:nLD333340]

Friesland Bank also holds less than 5 percent of shares in Dutch online broker BinckBank (BINCK.AS). (Reporting by Harro ten Wolde, editing by Mike Peacock)