Banking and financing are important service industries in the Netherlands, providing funds for international as well as domestic enterprises. Overall, the assets of domestic banking groups reached a value of approximately 2.6 trillion euros in the first half of 2023, more than twice the size of the Dutch GDP. An important characteristic of the banking sector in the Netherlands, though, is that a few institutions are dominantly bigger than others. The assets of ING, Rabobank and ABN AMRO were much higher in 2022 than those of, for example, De Volksbank, a banking group that owns multiple domestic brands. Another characteristic of Dutch banks is their diverse activities in various business segments.
Retail banking
Retail banking covers services like card payments and mortgages. Banks, for example, are the biggest provider of mortgage loans in the Netherlands, with the three largest banks – ABN AMRO, Rabobank, and ING – having reached a combined market share of over 43 percent in 2021. Additionally, card payments in the Netherlands grew in recent years at the expense of cash payments despite a slight decrease in 2021. In 2021, the number of payment transactions at point-of-sale terminals with cards issued was approximately 3.94 billion. In 2021, 70 percent of all e-commerce payment transactions were done with iDEAL. This domestic bank transfer system allows online shoppers to use their debit cards for online shopping and is supported by all Dutch consumer banks.
Corporate banking
The role of corporate banking within the Dutch economy is vital, especially for SMEs. The total amount of outstanding SME loans overall decreased between 2015 and the first half of 2023, with a sharp increase during the first quarter of 2021 as a result of government measures implemented due to the coronavirus pandemic. Compared to the EU average of around 1.8 percent, though, the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio in the Netherlands (the rate at which a bank’s loans are not repaid) was significantly lower in 2022, at 1.2 percent.
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