The fact that the banks were performing well was already evident in August in the doubled half-yearly profits of ING, Rabobank, ABN AMRO, de Volksbank (SNS Bank and ASN Bank) and Triodos Bank. They all pointed to higher interest rates at the European Central Bank as the reason behind their good numbers.
The interest margin increases because banks increase interest rates on savings products less quickly than interest rates on loans. Major banks increased interest rates on their savings in small steps to approximately 1.7% for freely withdrawable savings.
The fact that interest rates on savings and loans do not rise as quickly is partly because the rise in interest rates on savings applies immediately to almost all savings. For loans, interest rates mainly apply to newly purchased products.
Savers in the Netherlands are also stuck. Switching in your country does not make any sense because there is not much difference between interest rates. You can earn more interest on your savings abroad, but not everyone takes this step.
In the past two years, nearly twice as much Dutch savings have ended up abroad, according to recent figures from DNB. Total savings abroad rose from 5.6 billion euros to 10.5 billion euros at the end of September.
However, this represents less than 2% of the total Dutch bank balance. Therefore, Dutch banks do not have to fear that savers will withdraw their money due to low interest rates.
Given the lag in savings rates, regulator ACM, at the request of outgoing Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag, is examining whether there is sufficient competition among Dutch banks. ACM expects to present results before the summer of 2024.
