Banks which receive state aid will no longer be able to pay bonuses to top staff until the money has been repaid, finance minister Jan Kees de Jager told television show Buitenhof on Sunday.

Now, banks which have been bailed out can pay bonuses if they make a profit, but De Jager says he plans to anchor the stricter approach in law.
The decision follows the news that ING’s director Jan Hommen is to get a bonus of €1.25m on top of his €1.35m salary over 2010, even though the bank still has to repay €5bn to the state.
Pay rise
Hommen also got a 2% pay rise, while ordinary bank staff got 1%.
CDA MPs at the weekend said the measure should be backdated so the bonuses for Hommen and the other executive board could to be scrapped.
And MP Elly Blanksma made a ‘moral appeal’ to Hommen to pay back the bonus.
Pensions

This weekend it emerged ING is freezing the pensions of former bank staff for the second year in a row because the bank had decided against putting any extra cash into the pension fund to make an increase possible.
The pensioner fund board and the pensioners committee are asking an arbitration committee to give its verdict on the bank’s position. The FNV trade union federation is also considering taking action against the bank.

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