Finance minister Jan Kees de Jager took measures earlier this year to prevent banking group ABN Amro paying bonuses to its executive board members, reports the Financieele Dagblad quoting confidential sources.

Despite a net loss in 2010 of €414m, the bank’s supervisory board thought the bonuses were justified, the paper says. De Jager disagreed and, with the bank 100% state-owned following a bail-out in 2009, refused to allow the payments to go ahead.
The subject of bank bonuses is a sensitive one. Earlier this week, the executive board of ING decided not to take its bonuses following anger from the minister.
De Jager is currently looking at measures to stop banks paying bonuses that still owe the state money from bail-outs.