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NIBC considers using Dutch bank guarantee plan
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch merchant bank NIBC is considering making use of an interbank loan guarantee plan from the Dutch government, which could make it the first Dutch financial to do so, NIBC's Chief Executive said on Friday.
"We're studying the possibility, the conditions, and I hope clarity will be provided very soon," Jeroen Drost told reporters after presenting a drop in quarterly profit.
The Dutch government last month offered guarantees for a maximum of 200 billion euros ($272 billion) in interbank loans in a bid to boost liquidity in the financial system, in line with measures by other European countries.
"The scheme is there to refinance maturing liabilities. We need to pay on cash liabilities 3.3 billion euros next year and about 400 million euros this year. Those would be indications, we don't know exactly what it will be," Drost said.
The exact amount depended on other funding initiatives, its savings arm NIBC Direct -- which raised more than 0.6 billion euros in retail savings in the past two months -- and what other banks would do, Drost said.
There were also maturing assets of 1.5 billion to 2 billion euros which NIBC was also looking at, NIBC Chief Financial Officer Kees van Dijkhuizen said.
Mid-cap banking and insurance group SNS Reaal (SR.AS) said it was studying the plan. A Rabobank RABN.UL spokesman said the bank would not make use of the plan, while a spokeswoman for ING (ING.AS) said it was not logical to use the plan as the group had little refinancing needs next year.
NIBC Bank and its parent company NIBC Holding both have Tier-1 ratios -- a measure of a bank's financial strength -- above 15 percent, compared with 10 percent or more for rivals ING Bank and SNS Reaal's banking activities.
NIBC Holding got a 400 million euro capital injection in the first quarter this year from its shareholders, which include U.S. private equity firm JC Flowers, ABN AMRO, Banco Santander (SAN.MC) and Aviva's (AV.L) Delta Lloyd.
NIBC Bank made a net profit of 45 million euros in the third quarter, a 37 percent drop compared to a year ago as its merchant bank activities made a quarterly loss, mainly due to investment losses of 2 million euros, the bank said.
(Reporting by Gilbert Kreijger; editing by Simon Jessop)
