DNB

Imbalances on the Dutch housing market pose the "biggest stability risk" to the Netherlands, Dutch central bank DNB said in its latest Financial Stability Overview. The central bank also warned that a "disorderly Brexit" and the trade war between the United States and China can seriously damage economic growth.

The prices of houses in the Netherlands are still rising, albeit less rapidly than before, and the housing shortage continues. This makes it increasingly difficult for the average Dutch person to be able to afford a house.

Over the past weeks the police arrested three people in Almere on suspicion of involvement in the large-scale production, trade and distribution of counterfeit money. According to the police, counterfeit notes made in Almere were found all over Europe.

Over the past decades free sector rental homes have been too much of a "neglected child" in the Dutch housing market policy, Klaas Knot, president of Dutch central bank DNB, said in a speech on Monday. He called for more attention to be paid to this part of the housing market, ANP reports.

Micheal Fudge, who was killed in a police shooting near Dutch central bank DNB on Westeinde in Amsterdam on Wednesday, suffered severe anxiety disorders his entire life, according to his mother. He wanted euthanasia, but when he could not get it, he opted for suicide by cop, mother Tanja Samojlenko said to Het Parool. 

Dutch central bank DNB issued a warning to Vivat because the insurer is too lax with its screening on terrorism financing. Vivat could face a sanction if the company does not improve the situation quickly, Financieele Dagblad reports based on a letter DNB sent to the insurer.

Since May of this year, only 39 percent of transactions in the Netherlands were paid for with cash, compared to around 60 percent in 2014, according to new figures from Dutch central bank DNB and the Dutch Payments Association. DNB is concerned about the rapidly decreasing use of cash money. A cashless society is "vulnerable", DNB cash director Coen Voormeulen said to newspaper AD.

Multiple banks under the supervision of Dutch central bank DNB are too lax when it comes to countering money laundering, according to the regulator. Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Finance asked the DNB to look into this after ING was slapped with a massive settlement for this same reason. He informed parliament about the results of the DNB investigation on Tuesday, ANP reports.

The debts of investors, home buyers, consumers, companies, and governments are rising to dangerously high levels world wide, Nout Wellink and Hans Hoogevorst warn in the Telegraaf.

Wellink and Hoogevorst were in charge of Dutch central bank DNB and Dutch authority on financial markets AFM respectively during the financial crisis that started in 2008. 

According to the two financial experts, there is insufficient clarity on where the risks are, which means that markets could underestimate the rising deficits. They call te banking sector a particular cause of concern. 

The Dutch Tax Authority was hit by a DDoS attack on Monday, NOS reports. According to the tax service, its site was difficult to reach for a time on Monday morning, but everything should be working again. Three Dutch banks also faced such cyber attacks since Saturday.

Politicians, cryptocurrency companies and regulators appearing in parliament on Wednesday all agreed that clearer policy and regulations are needed around the developing cryptocurrency sphere.

The Dutch economy continues to grow strongly, with growth of over 3 percent expected for this year and next year, according to Dutch central bank DNB's latest forecast, RTL Nieuws reports.

The economic growth will reach a peak of 3.3 percent this year, the strongest growth in 10 years, according to DNB. Next year the bank expects the economy to grow by 3.1 percent, and 2.3 percent growth is expected in 2019. "We are moving from economic recovery to economic expansion", DNB director Job Swank said, according to the broadcaster.