The Netherlands' Rabobank has said it will not sell its controlling stake in Switzerland's Sarasin & Cie, despite the latter’s reported desire to buy out Rabobank’s holding.

The comments come after the Financial Times reported on Thursday that Sarasin chief executive Joachim Straehle said the firm "would love to do a management buyout" in a deal estimated by the paper to be worth SFr3 billion ($3.4 billion).

In response, a spokesperson for Rabobank today told Dow Jones Newswires that an MBO of Rabobank’s stake in the Swiss private bank is not under discussion.

Rabobank owns a 46 per cent stake of Sarasin’s equity capital and 68.6 per cent of its voting rights.

The Dutch firm initially bought a minority stake in Sarasin, gaining majority control in 2007. Sarasin’s assets under management rose 11 per cent last year to nearly SFr103 billion.