German insurance giant Allianz on Friday denied claims made in the Volkskrant newspaper that it plans to enter the Dutch mortgage market as part of a consortium of financial institutions.

The Volkskrant said on Friday morning a consortium of 20 German financial groups, including Deutsche Bank and Allianz, will challenge Dutch banks by offering a repayment mortgage with an interest rate of around 2.8%. The average Dutch rate varies from 3.9% to 4.5%.

But a spokesman for Allianz Nederland told the Financieele Dagblad: ‘We have no plans to offer mortgages in the Netherlands and we are not working on this with other German financial institutions.’

‘No-one asked us so I have no idea where this story came from,’ the spokesman said.

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Deutsche Bank is checking the status of its apparent involvement with its headquarters in Germany, the FD said.

Rob Jansen, a mortgage advisor quoted by the regional newspaper Stentor, told the FD he had been shocked by the reaction to the story. ‘But I have no reason to doubt my contacts,’ he said.

Thousands of people have contacted his office to find out more, Jansen said.