Dutch banks have sent a letter to the finance minister Wouter Bos demanding that the government scrap a higher guarantee for savings deposits because the scheme could cost them billions of euros.

After the collapse of the Icelandic internet bank Icesave at the beginning of October, the finance ministry more than doubled the guarantee from nearly €40,000 per individual to €100,000. Under the system, the remaining banks have to cough up the funds lost by depositors in ratio to their share of the savings market.
‘We want the new agreement to be scrapped immediately because there will be a major disaster if a big bank collapses,’ Bert Heemskerk, head of savings market leader Rabobank, said in the Financieele Dagblad.
Instead, the banks want to introduce an insurance scheme for savings accounts, with customers paying a higher premium for deposits at banks with more credit risk.
The finance ministry told the Financieele Dagblad that the higher guarantee was only valid for a year and that talks would shortly begin on what to do thereafter.
Minister Bos, meanwhile, is embroiled in a conflict with council and provincial governments who are pursuing claims for millions of euros against Icelandic bank Landsbanki, the Volkskrant reports.
Bos refused to sanction their actions at the weekend because he is said to be worried that they would endanger government efforts to retrieve the savings of Dutch customers of Icesave. The local and provincial authorities say they have already laid claim to €100 mln of Landsbanki assets and must push on.