Finance minister Wouter Bos told parliament on Tuesday the government guarantee aimed at kick-starting bank lending is only available to a maximum of 85 banks, reports news agency ANP.

There are 259 banks with a Dutch licence but many of them are part of the same group and only one bank per group may apply for the guarantee.
On Monday car lease company LeasePlan, which holds a banking licence, was the first to receive a government guarantee for its loans. Bos says he knows of ‘a number of other banks’ which are planning to apply for the guarantee, says ANP.