Dutch are spending their savings on mortgage repayments, says central bank

The Dutch drew an ‘exceptional amount’ of money from their savings accounts in 2013, the central bank said on Tuesday.

In total, €4bn was taken out of savings accounts, most of it going towards paying off mortgages, which gives house owners a better return on the money.

The central bank says the interest rate on saving accounts has dropped over the past 12 months by around 0.5% to an average 1.37%.

The Dutch still have a total €280bn in savings and a national mortgage debt of €540bn.

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