The American credit crisis will have an effect on the Dutch economy and finance minister Wouter Bos is being too optimistic, Nout Wellink, chairman of the Dutch central bank, told tv programme Buitenhof on Sunday.

Wellink told the programme he expects economic growth to fall to between 1.5% and 2.5%, compared with the 2.6% forecast at the end of 2007.
One cannot argue that what is happening in the US will not affect the rest of the economy, Wellink said.
Last week prime minister Jan Pieter Balkenende said he agreed with Bos that the chance of the American situation affecting the Netherlands was small.
But Wellink said on Sunday that in his opinion Bos must start planning to offset any economic downturn.