International banks taking over Dutch savings market with higher interest rates

The number of foreign banks in the Dutch market is rapidly increasing. Over half of the banks where Dutch savers can put their money come from another EU country, BNR reports based on an analysis it asked Vanspaarbankveranderen.nl to conduct.

A total of 56 providers are currently offering savings products in the Netherlands, of which 34 do not fall under the Dutch system. They are mainly active in the Netherlands through an intermediary like financial services marketplace Raisin.

According to Raisin, Dutch people transfer over 100 million euros into foreign accounts every week. The intermediary attributes this to Dutch banks’ slowness in increasing savings interest rates. None of the three largest Dutch banks offer savings interest above 2 percent - Rabobank currently offers 1.7 percent, and ABN Amro and ING offer 1.5 percent.

Foreign providers see that as an opportunity to lure Dutch savers with higher interest rates, Eelco Habets, the Netherlands director of Germany-based Raisin, told BNR. Raisin makes it easy for Dutch people to open foreign saving accounts and has helped over 26 foreign banks find Dutch customers, the director said.

Habets said he expects to add another six banks to the Dutch market this quarter.

On its Dutch website, Raisin advertises saving interest rates well above what the Dutch banks offer. Standard rates of 2.75 to 3.01 percent apply, with some accounts earning up to 4 percent.