EU regulators want to examine Dutch SNS Reaal rescue

Dutch authorities will have to notify EU antitrust regulators about the 3.7 billion euro ($5 billion) rescue of bank and insurance group SNS Reaal , a spokesman for the European Commission said on Friday.

"We are in contact with the Dutch government over the support for SNS Reaal. This should be notified to the Commission," Antoine Colombani, a spokesman for competition policy at the EU executive, told a daily briefing.

The Commission's state aid regulators examine sizeable amounts of aid or funding provided by EU governments, to ensure it does not distort competition by giving aided companies an unfair advantage.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Rex Merrifield)