Shares in Dutch lenders fell on Friday after the country became the latest in Europe to propose more punitive taxes on banks to help citizens cope with a rise in living costs.
The country’s biggest bank by assets, ING, suffered a 5 per cent fall in early trading on Friday, while ABN Amro’s shares dropped 4 per cent.
Late on Thursday night, a majority of Dutch politicians voted in favour of a raft of tax proposals to support an increase in the minimum wage and childcare support in 2024.
One of the measures was a 70 per cent increase in the country’s bank levy, which would bring in around €850mn a year. A separate new tax on share buybacks was expected to bring in an additional €1.2bn.
Italy’s banks suffered share price drops last month when the government proposed a new tax on its lenders, following similar moves made by EU governments in Spain, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Lithuania over the past year.
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