Dutch banks ABN AMRO and NIBC have both kicked off reviews of their legal panels, Legal Week has learned.

ABN, which listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange last year, has in the past worked with a range of law firms including Allen & Overy (A&O), Clifford Chance (CC), Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Hogan Lovells, as well as US firms such as Davis Polk & Wardwell and Shearman & Sterling.

Dutch firm De Braw Blackstone Westbroek advised the bank on its initial public offering (IPO) last November, with Davis Polk providing US and English law advice.

The listing marked a return to the public markets for ABN after its bailout by the Netherlands government during the financial crisis in 2008. NL Financial Investments, which manages the Dutch state's shareholding, was advised by A&O on the IPO.

An ABN spokesperson said: "Periodically the legal department reviews existing contracts with the legal panel firms. At the end of the existing contracts new agreements have to be negotiated, so this is a normal periodic review of the existing panel firm agreements."

Meanwhile, NIBC's global panel review is being led by legal head Vikki Greatorex, who joined the bank in 2013 from A&O, where she had been a partner for four years.

The Dutch bank has in recent years worked with Freshfields and CC, which in 2012 advised both ABN and NIBC on financing part of the acquisition of Eindhoven's High Tech Campus by a consortium of private investors.

CC won a mandate earlier this month to advise ABN Amro on the sale of its private-banking assets in Asia and the Middle East to Liechtenstein-based LGT Group. The assets are worth around $20bn (£15.7m).

The firm's team is being led by Singapore partner Lee Taylor.

It is understood Baker & McKenzie is acting for LGT.

In 2013, Freshfields advised NIBC on the restructuring and placement of a £620m infrastructure collateralised loan obligation with a UK-based life insurance group.

An NIBC spokesperson said: "The objective [of the review] is to use a more select group of law firms to improve efficiency, speed and quality for both ourselves and our clients."