Still, research on SNS Reaal, investors want compensation

The Chamber of Commerce of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal opened an investigation into the policy and course of events around the bank and insurer SNS Reaal, nationalized in 2013.

Particular attention was paid to politics in the perspective of nationalization, which was deemed necessary after SNS Reaal incorporated the controversial branch of Property Finance. The question is to what extent SNS Reaal knew the major financial problems of the real estate sector, which caused the fall of the whole company. Victims lost millions of euros in investments

Lost money

Research was a burning wish of the investment association VEB and Stichting Beheer SNS Reaal, former majority shareholder of the bank-insurer. Nationalization means that shareholders and subordinated bonds have lost their money all at once. This involved not only larger professional investors, but also about 2,500 individuals. They held millions of euros of participation certificates from SNS and thus fell under the subordinated loans.

The VEB is satisfied with the investigation. "With this decision, the Chamber of Companies approves the social importance of opening business.The truth about the fall of the SNS group must come to the table," says Paul Koster in a statement

Read also: SNS Reaal intensified its ambitions in real estate financing in 2006. A reconstruction how that went completely wrong .

The Court of Appeal examines a number of specific issues, such as the risks associated with the acquisition of Bouwfonds Property Finance. This branch of real estate had been malfunctioning for years and provided the bank's insurer with so many losses that the state saw nationalization as the only solution. Former SNS Property Finance bankers, including former CEO Buck Groenhof, have been convicted of involvement in a criminal organization, bribery, money laundering and forgery

Report: Needless nationalization

In May of this year, the researchers concluded that the nationalization of SNS could have been avoided. There would have been other "viable scenarios" for the rescue of the company, as a possible bailout by the UK HVAC investment company.

The nationalization of SNS Reaal cost the Dutch state 3.7 billion euros. The real estate branch was privatized and the insurance branch was sold to the Chinese insurer Anbang. The bank, now called De Volksbank, is still entirely in the hands of the state.