Multinationals extend loans worth over €150 billion to Dutch companies

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Large international firms lend substantial sums to their Dutch subsidiaries, DNB figures reveal. Their financial holdings – known as captive financial institutions (CFIs) – had extended over €154 billion in loans to Dutch businesses at the end of the third quarter of 2025. This makes these intra-group loans an important source of credit for companies in the Netherlands. 

Published: 26 February 2026

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Source: DNB statistics

At De Nederlandsche Bank, we independently compile statistics on the Dutch financial sector and economy. This article is based on these statistics. More information on our statistics and all dashboards can be found on our Statistics homepage.

A substantial portion of the financing attracted by Dutch businesses comes from captive financial institutions. These are the financial holding companies of multinational corporations that formally belong to the financial sector. In practice, however, they are mainly used to organise financial flows within the group.

These multinationals tend to have ample assets, so they often do not need to take out a loan from a bank or other party, or seek another form of financing, to invest in their Dutch subsidiaries. Instead, they extend credit within their own group in the form of intra-group loans. 

At the end of the third quarter of 2025, the value of outstanding intra-group loans from CFIs to the Dutch corporate sector was approximately €154 billion. This amounts to about 13% of Dutch gross domestic product.

These intra-group loans from multinationals to their Dutch subsidiaries can be used for domestic investments, in which case there is a direct contribution to the Dutch economy.

However, due to the international nature of these multinationals, it is conceivable that a large proportion of these loans are used for investments abroad through conduit financing, while this is not necessarily the case with banks.

Majority of intra-group loans come from outside the European Union

Around 85% of outstanding intra-group loans originate with multinationals whose ultimate controlling institutional unit, i.e. the top of the corporate pyramid, is based outside the European Union in countries such as the United States or Brazil. The sectors involved may include telecommunications, automotive, and oil and gas extraction.       

Only 15% of intra-group loans involve an ultimate controlling institutional unit based in an EU country.

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