Volkswagen-owned LeasePlan launches Dutch bank

* New online bank to target consumer, business savings

* Targets one of the highest deposit rates in market

AMSTERDAM, Feb 9 (Reuters) - LeasePlan, a Dutch auto lease financing company half-owned by Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), on Tuesday launched its own online bank, adding further pressure to an already crowded savings market.

LeasePlan, one of the first companies to tap the Dutch state's loan guarantee scheme during the credit crisis, said it wanted to broaden its capital base and finance some of its future funding needs through consumer and corporate savings.

That will add further pressure to the Dutch savings market, which has been caught in a rate war for nearly two years. Some Dutch banks have also complained to European authorities about the rates being paid by nationalised and state-supported banks.

The bank, which is targeting deposits of 1 billion to 2 billion euros within two to three years, is offering a deposit rate of 2.53 percent, the sixth-highest deposit rate in the Netherlands. (Reporting by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by David Cowell)