Rabobank CEO Bert Heemskerk said on Wednesday evening that he fears house prices will fall by 10% to 20% in the foreseeable future, reports the Financieele Dagblad.

Heemskerk wants the Dutch banks to introduce a compulsory mortgage insurance which he says would act as an ‘indirect state guarantee’ and which could reduce the fall in prices to 5%.
The insurance would make it easier for the banks to offer their mortgages to insurance companies and pension funds and create more space for them to provide new mortgages, says the FD.
Rabobank is the Netherlands’ largest mortgage lender with a market share of nearly 30%.