Dutch banks benefit from low interest rates in 2010
Date | 8 February 2011 |
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Theme | Statistics |

Dutch banks issued EUR 39 billion in debt securities in 2010 (money market paper and bonds), less than half as much as in 2009 (EUR 92 billion). As in 2009, the resulting growth in outstanding debt securities (8%) considerably outpaced the average of euro area banks (Chart 1). Unlike in 2009, Dutch banks did not use the guarantee scheme set up by the government.


Owing to the decline in long-term interest rates in 2010, it became more attractive, from a cost perspective, to issue debt securities with longer maturities. Banks extended the average maturity of the bonds they issued from 5 years in 2009 to 6.5 years in 2010. In addition, they lowered the share of money market paper in total outstanding debt securities from 16% to 15%. Nonetheless, the proportion of outstanding money market paper relative to total outstanding debt securities was still around twice as high as before the credit crisis and also above the average for euro area banks (12%).