Dutch pension funds should become major investors in Dutch banks, finance minister Wouter Bos told tv programme Buitenhof on Sunday.

‘I support trying to root banks more firmly in society. We have to see if pension funds can become bigger shareholders than they now are,’ he told the show.
Pension funds would be more stable investors than investors who put money into banks all over the world, Bos said. There is no place for global, universal banks any more, he said.
Risks
‘We have seen that the bigger the bank, the bigger the risks and we know if it goes wrong, the taxpayer will pick up the bill,’ he said. ‘Small is safer than big. But of course, small banks also bring risks.’
The Telegraaf reports that Bos criticised prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende for blaming the economic crisis on greedy bankers.
‘That is not the whole story, Bos was quoted as saying by the paper. ‘We must not be so naive about believing in the power of the market,’ he said.