Mon, 08 Nov 2021 10:17:28 GMT Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/ The European Central Bank (ECB) kept the interest rate at 2% again in February. It has done so for five consecutive meetings, because inflation is stabilising around the 2% target, while the economy is growing steadily but still faces uncertainties. Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/background-2026/why-the-ecb-has-kept-the-interest-rate-unchanged-at-2/ Mortgage lending by banks in the Netherlands is growing robustly again after a temporary downturn, new figures from DNB show. Growth is even above the euro area average. Loans with fixed-interest periods of five to ten years in particular are in demand. Mon, 04 Aug 2025 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/statistical-news/2025/banks-are-lending-more-for-residential-mortgage-loans/ For the first time in more than a year, the ECB did not lower its key interest rate but kept it unchanged at 2%. Does this mean inflation is under control? Or are there other factors at play, and is the ECB just taking a breather? A look at some of the ECB's considerations. Fri, 25 Jul 2025 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/background-2025/why-the-ecb-has-kept-its-interest-rates-unchanged/ ‘What we need now is for governments, central banks and academia to continue to speak out for the international financial rules-based order that has brought us stability and prosperity over the decades.’, said Klaas Knot at Nyenrode Business University today. Fri, 14 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/speech-2025/the-case-for-international-monetary-diplomacy/ Dutch households again saved a lot of money in 2024, new figures from DNB show. Together, they held a record amount of €600.5 billion in payment and savings accounts at the end of December 2024. Thu, 30 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/statistical-news/2025/dutch-households-keep-saving-more-than-600-billion-in-bank-accounts/ As at 30 June 2024, Dutch households held some €15 billion in bank deposits in other euro area countries, the latest figures from DNB and the European Central Bank (ECB) show. This means foreign savings keep growing. Thu, 05 Sep 2024 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/statistical-news/2024/dutch-households-see-foreign-bank-deposits-double-in-two-years/ Higher mortgage rates over the past two years caused house prices to fall temporarily, but now they are rising. How can that be explained? Thu, 06 Jun 2024 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/background-2024/explanations-for-rapid-recovery-of-house-prices/ The proportion of bonds carrying negative yields fell sharply in the first half of 2021 on the back of rising market rates. As of 30 June 2021, the combined nominal value of Dutch bonds with negative yields totalled €624 billion, down €142 billion on 31 December 2020. Fri, 03 May 2024 16:06:15 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/statistical-news/2021/volume-of-dutch-bonds-with-negative-yields-has-fallen-sharply/ Dutch banks' interest margin decreased last year. Interest rates are expected to remain low, sustaining pressure on the interest margin. Banks are therefore applying negative interest rates to a growing proportion of savings. Fri, 03 May 2024 15:06:02 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/news-2021/low-interest-rates-put-pressure-on-banks-interest-margin/ Klaas Knot spoke with Takerou Minami from Nikkei about monetary policy and financial stability. The interview was published on April 30th 2024. Tue, 30 Apr 2024 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/media-2024/interview-klaas-knot-with-nikkei/ By highlighting several financial stability risks, Olaf Sleijpen illustrated how central banks’ measures to safeguard price stability interact on various levels with various stakeholders – be it households or corporates, the general public or governments. Fri, 09 Feb 2024 15:53:02 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/speech-2024/speech-olaf-sleijpen-central-bank-independence-against-the-background-of-higher-interest-rates-and-financial-stability-ceteris-paribus-or-mutatis-mutandis/ Dutch households’ bank deposits continued to grow in 2023, new figures from DNB show. Total deposits in payment and savings accounts at banks in the Netherlands increased by €14.9 billion to €576.3 billion. Mon, 29 Jan 2024 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/statistical-news/2024/households-saving-as-much-as-before-the-pandemic/ Dutch households are putting more and more money in bank accounts abroad, according to the latest quarterly figures from DNB and the ECB. Countries where savings rates have recently risen are particularly popular among Dutch savers. Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/statistical-news/2023/dutch-households-save-more-abroad/ In October the ECB did not raise its rates for the first time since the summer of 2022. This does not mean that the effects of tighter monetary policy have already worn off, however. Mon, 20 Nov 2023 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/news-2023/effect-of-monetary-policy-takes-time-to-materialise-and-varies-by-country/ The Dutch financial sector must be prepared to face increasing interest rate and credit risks at financial institutions. In addition, lower liquidity in financial markets may cause price fluctuations in one market to spill over to other parts of the financial system more quickly. Mon, 09 Oct 2023 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/press-release-2023/risks-to-financial-stability-increase-due-to-rapidly-rising-interest-rates/ “Risks to financial stability increase due to rapidly rising interest rates. Rising interest rates have made it more expensive for households and businesses in the Netherlands to borrow money.” Klaas Knot said this today at the presentation of DNB’s autumn 2023 Financial Stability Report. Mon, 09 Oct 2023 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/speech-2023/introductory-remarks-by-klaas-knot-at-the-press-conference-on-the-fsr/ While interest rates on mortgages have risen sharply following the ECB's recent rate hikes, the increase of interest rates on savings accounts has been limited so far. Banks do not pass on an ECB rate hike equally to their customers as they wish to maintain their interest margin. Wed, 10 May 2023 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/news-2023/ecb-interest-rate-hikes-have-a-higher-pass-through-to-mortgage-than-to-savings-rates/ 2022 was a turbulent year, with major events worldwide that affected nearly all of us to a greater of lesser extent. This year too, we see the impact of these events clearly reflected in our economy. We outline the most important below, but first we take a brief look back at 2022. Thu, 23 Mar 2023 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/background-2023/challenges-for-our-economy-in-2023/ In 2022, Dutch households again invested more in emerging markets such as South Africa, Brazil and China. Despite net purchases, the value of these investments decreased to €2,241 million at the end of 2022 due to price losses, down from a record €2,631 million at the end of 2021. Mon, 20 Feb 2023 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/statistical-news/2023/dutch-households-invest-more-in-emerging-markets/ Interview with Klaas Knot by Martin Arnold of the Financial Times. Published on December 26, 2022. Mon, 26 Dec 2022 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/media/interview-klaas-knot-in-the-financial-times/ Dutch insurers sold €23 billion worth of assets on balance so far this year, DNB figures show. They used about three quarters of the proceeds to meet the margin requirements under derivatives contracts. I Thu, 08 Dec 2022 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/statistical-news/2022/dutch-insurers-are-selling-many-assets-this-year/ Dutch households are increasingly taking out variable-rate mortgage loans or fixed-rate residential mortgage loans of up to one year, DNB data show. Thu, 24 Nov 2022 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/statistical-news/2022/variable-and-short-term-mortgage-rates-increasingly-popular/ In 2021, Dutch households continued to save heavily. The total balance in current and savings accounts of Dutch households increased by €33.8 billion to a total of €528.4 billion in 2021. Mon, 31 Jan 2022 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/statistical-news/2022/households-saved-less-in-2021-than-in-first-year-of-the-covid-19-pandemic/ The economic recovery continues at a robust pace, the search for yield continues and house prices keep going up. Against this backdrop, it is important not to lose sight of growing vulnerabilities and risks to financial stability. Mon, 11 Oct 2021 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/press-releases-2021/robust-economic-recovery-but-vulnerabilities-on-the-rise/ On 11 October 2021 Klaas Knot presented our six-monthly Financial Stabilty Report. You can read his introductory remarks here. Mon, 11 Oct 2021 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/speeches-2021/introduction-to-the-press-conference/ At year-end 2019, Dutch banks held EUR 368 billion in household savings, up roughly EUR 13 billion, or 3.5%, on the previous year. The largest portion of the increase is attributable to higher net deposits, which reached EUR 12 billion in 2019. At EUR 1.2 billion, credited interest made ... Wed, 05 Feb 2020 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/statistical-news/2020/savings-held-at-banks-sharply-up-despite-low-interest-rates/ Prolonged low interest rates constitute one of the major risks to financial stability internationally. Financial conditions have been accommodative for several years now.This reduces incentives for bringing down debts and lead to distorted pricing in financial markets, which could cause asset... Tue, 15 Oct 2019 12:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/news-2020/dnb-prolonged-low-interest-rates-are-the-main-risk-to-financial-stability/ Prolonged low interest rates constitute one of the major risks to the Dutch financial sector. This emerges from DNB's spring 2017 Financial Stability Report (FSR) published today. The report will serve as DNB's input for the annual public meeting of the standing parliamentary committee for... Tue, 06 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/press-releases-2015-2020/prolonged-low-interest-rates-pose-risk-to-the-dutch-financial-sector/ The economic recovery continues, but political and economic uncertainties that affect the global economy have increased in recent months, due in part to the imminent Brexit. In addition, concerns about the profitability of the European banking sector have deepened further. Bank profits are... Tue, 04 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/press-releases-2015-2020/banks-interest-rate-margins-under-pressure-as-a-result-of-low-interest-rates/