10,000 clients of bankrupt Amsterdam Trade Bank got their money back

About 10,000 customers of the bankrupt Amsterdam Trade Bank (ATB) have received their money back so far. Over half of the 700 million euros some 23,000 savers had at ATB has now been refunded, Dutch central bank DNB said in an update to NOS.

DNB is paying out up to 100,000 euros. Savers who had more money in their ATB accounts will get 100,000 euros. For the rest, they'll have to report to the bankruptcy curators.

ATB is a subsidiary of the Russian Alfa Banks. After Russia invaded Ukraine, sanctions were implemented against some of the bank's owners. The bank is also sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom. The sanctions included blocking the bank's payment systems.

ATB is the first bank to go bankrupt in the Netherlands since DSB Bank in 2009. After the great financial crisis in Europe early this century, the EU agreed that each country would set up a fund into which all banks deposit money. If a bank then goes bankrupt, affected savers can be compensated from that fund.

The DNB is now refunding ATB customers from that fund. "The fund now contains 3 billion euros, so that is more than enough to pay the savers of the ATB," Hans Kooy of DNB said to NOS. "Compensation of ATB customers must be done within ten working days, which are the current rules in the EU. By comparison, it took us two months at DSB in 2009. So were are happy with how things are going so far. We are on schedule, and customers can get their money back quickly."