The Dutch financial services regulator AFM has fined Mercedes €24,000 for extending too much credit to a number of car buyers in 2008 and 2009.

The AFM investigated 30 loans made by Mercedes -Benz Financial Services, the regulator said in a statement.
It found that the company had used a ‘lower norm for living expenses’ than set down in the financial sector’s code of conduct when it calculated how much certain categories of household could borrow. ‘That is serious,’ the watchdog said.