ING chief says Dutch bonus rules hurt race to attract bankers

The managing director of ING, the largest lender in the Netherlands, claimed that his country would miss the race for post-Brexit investment bank positions because of its strict bonus rules.

Amsterdam is one of the European capitals – alongside Paris, Frankfurt and Dublin – which are competing for a share of jobs in the financial services sector currently based in London and which should change after the departure of Britain.

However, Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING, said "that there are many limits in Dutch law" to deter global investment banks from setting up in the capital of the country. country, referring to rules limiting bonuses for bankers to 20% of their fixed badets. Pay.

This amount is well below the European limit, which limits bonuses to 100% of fixed salary or 200% with shareholder approval.

"If you believe that business bankers, people working in the financial markets, are motivated by variable pay. . . Amsterdam is not a natural place to grow, "said Mr. Hamers in an interview with the Financial Times.

ING has often run up against politicians in the Netherlands about the country's limits on bank bonuses.

Last year, the bank gave up granting a 50% pay raise to Mr. Hamers after the Dutch Finance Minister accused the lender of acting as a "cookie jar" for his manager. general.

Mr Hamers said that ING was "proud to be Dutch" and that the bank had acknowledged that "remuneration is a sensitive topic in Dutch society".

But he insisted that the bank would continue to argue that the country's bonus rules put it at a disadvantage.

He said it was important for EU banks to adopt harmonized rules on remuneration, taxes and capital, while politicians were trying to create a single market. for European banks.

"We always remember that if you want a European banking union, the rules of the game must be level," said Mr Hamers.

Clifford Abrahams, chief financial officer of ABN Amro, the third largest bank in the Netherlands, said: "I do not see the [bonus] the rules change to encourage the trading rooms. Amsterdam is not going to become a hub for trade, but could still become a hub for other financial services sectors. "

Royal Bank of Scotland is the only bank to have set up a major banking hub in Amsterdam via its NatWest Markets NV entity, which will employ between 120 and 150 people in the Dutch capital.

The UK-based lender will begin to transfer approximately 30% of its customers to the Dutch entity and serve them from 25 March.

Harm Bots, managing director of NatWest Markets NV, said: "We think the bonus cap is manageable for us because we have several roles on the ground in Amsterdam and most have been hired locally."