Banks that participate in the government’s €200bn loan guarantee scheme will have to agree to abide by good governance guidelines and limit severance and bonus systems for staff, finance minister Wouter Bos said on Tuesday.

The scheme, announced last week, is designed to breathe new life into the money markets by encouraging loans between banks. The government agreed to give guarantees for unsecured loans from three months to three years.
Executive staff at banks taking part in the credit scheme will be eligible for a maximum severance package of one year’s salary. Bonuses will also be limited.
Meanwhile, Fortis Bank Nederland, the Dutch arm of the Fortis financial group that was nationalised more than three weeks ago, has awarded dozens of bonuses to senior management without first seeking approval from the finance ministry, the Volkskrant reports.
Blocking bonuses to management has been a key element of government rescue packages for troubled banks.
The awards were made shortly after the bank was nationalised and were designed to stop talented managers jumping ship, Fortis Bank said. It added that the bonuses involved ‘modest sums’. Nevertheless, the bank decided yesterday to send the bonus proposals to the finance ministry for approval.
Executives at bank-insurer ING will not get a bonus at all this year under the terms of the €10bn capital injection announced on Monday