Bank runs do work: Dutch bank got run into the ground

Last Sunday in The Netherlands a relative small but for us Dutchies controversial bank got run into the ground after a grass roots call too consumers to withdraw all their savings after a scandal broke a couple of months ago that accused the DSB bank of pushing unneeded home mortgage insurances that ramped up the cost for loaners by tens of thousands of dollars.


Sorry, it's in Dutch but just wanted to show you the cause of all this DSB trouble, when i find one with English subtitles i'll post it here.

But after that televised comment, DSB denied having problems (duh)
Dutch bank DSB denies problems after TV comments

* DSB denies run on the bank * Foundation head called for people to pull their funds * Bank website down due to hacker attack (Adds DNB comment) AMSTERDAM, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Dutch bank DSB dismissed calls from a mortgage foundation on Thursday for customers to withdraw their money and denied there was a run on the bank. "There are no mass numbers of people taking away their money," DSB spokesman Klaas Wilting said following remarks by Pieter Lakeman, chairman of the Stichting Hypotheekleed, in a national television interview. Wilting said the bank was seeing a "bit higher" level of withdrawals than usual, but added it was not uncommon for DSB to have days when withdrawals outnumbered deposits. "We are not worried," Wilting said.

But at the same time costumers experienced trouble accessing their savings on the internet. The bank later declared it got attacked by hackers

DSB bank still down

Clients of DSB Bank continued to have difficulty in accessing their accounts online on Friday report various media.

The bank is still officially blaming hackers for the problems but a bank employee told ANP press service on Friday morning that the website had crashed because too many clients were trying to move their money, reports the NRC.

Financial services watchdog AFM which has already fined DSB and is keeping a careful eye on the bank, declined to comment on whether it is investigating the possibility that the bank intentionally limited access to its website on Thursday to prevent a bank run, says the Volkskrant.

The bank told the paper it has opened a telephone number through which customers can transfer money and that the situation is calm following the withdrawal of around €60m, or one percent of clients’ total savings, on Thursday.

The bank tried a last ditch attempt on October 9th to sway the public in feeling sorry for them in making a public apology to their costumers and declared that they would compensate the consumers that could not make their monthly payments due to the unneeded extra costs of the mortgage insurances.

DSB bank reaches deal on complaints

Independent DSB bank, under fire for overselling mortgages and charging too-high fees, has finally reached a compensation deal with one group respresenting unhappy customers, according to media reports on Friday.

The agreement with customer group Steunfonds Probleemhypotheken should have been signed on Monday, but the bank pulled out at the last minute.

The deal covers DSB customers whose mortgages are too high compared with their income or the value of their home. Exact details of the compensation package remained unclear on Friday morning but according to the Telegraaf, customer with excessive mortgage-related insurance polices will be able to cancel them.

But Lakeman said it was a deal purely in favor of the DSB bank and did not take the proposed deal.

Saturday the DNB ( not DSB but the central Dutch bank) paged a work agency with the order for call-center people for setting up additional capacity in the case of a insolvent DSB bank, ironically this, in part, set of the bank run because the work agency sent out a text to their work-force saying they have to go to work on monday at the Dutch National Bank to set up a call-center for an increased flow of calls. Some of those connected the dots and the ball went rolling for a last time.

Dutch Seize Bank After Run on Assets

AMSTERDAM -- The Dutch central bank shuttered DSB Bank NV, a struggling consumer and mortgage lender, after a run by depositors that followed a call from a consumer group to pull money out of the controversial institution.

The government said it would begin an investigation into what happened at the bank, a privately owned institution with reported assets of some €8 billion ($11.77 billion).

[...]

The central bank won an emergency court order Monday morning that put DSB into the hands of administrators. It described DSB's solvency as being "under serious pressure." Nout Wellink, the central bank president, told reporters that €600 million, or 17% of DSB Bank's total deposits, had been withdrawn since Oct. 1.

[...]

DSB Bank depositors are unable to access all their cash but can withdraw €250 a day on debit cards for the next three days. While DSB Bank cash machines have been frozen, clients can use their cards to take cash via other banks. The central bank said DSB Bank clients can open accounts with other banks without going through the usual weeks-long application process. Under the Dutch deposit-guarantee system, accounts of up to €100,000 are guaranteed by DNB through a plan funded jointly by the Dutch banks.

And so, here we are. A bank can be crushed with a little nudge, not sure if it is a GOOD thing, in the Netherlands it's not a big problem for the people that have less than 100,000 euro on their account (it is guaranteed by the government until that goes broke ) but it shows that it is possible nonetheless.

[edit on 14-10-2009 by Harman]

[edit on 14-10-2009 by Harman]

Ya, this is a good thing.

It shows all of us how the people have far more power than any corrupt bank.

If only there was an equally easy way to crush "Investment" banking institutions as well. They are a far bigger problem imo than simple community banks where you get a loan or have a checking account.

What strikes me is that as little as 17% of its deposits can bring a bank to its knees...wow lol

reply to post by muzzleflash


True that. Although the interlinked construction of the whole system will create ripples into the investment banks. And fear into the (what's left of those black shribbled) hearts of those guys high up in the monetairy food-chain. . It is something what we could do and it was nice to see in this case, DSB was the rotten apple in the Dutch basket of banks, not that the rest is clean but what bank is?