Paying bonuses to bank executives will help ING pay back the money it has received in state aid, CEO Jan Hommen told a parliamentary committee this week.

ING has to pay back a further €5bn in state aid after it was bailed out early in the financial crisis.
Hommen was one of a number of senior bankers appearing before a government finance committee to discuss the banking sector.
Paying back the money ‘is a priority for me, but I need the help of others,’ news agency Reuters quoted Hommen as saying. ‘A financial stimulus is needed to motivate them well. I think this is a stimulus well spent because it will benefit the taxpayer quickly.’
Under the Dutch banking code of conduct, bonuses are not supposed to exceed 100% of basic salary.
Finance minister Jan Kees de Jager has already warned the government may introduce legislation if the banks do not comply with their own code.