Dutch State Erred in ABN Amro, ING Bailouts, Committee Finds

The Dutch government made “large errors” in its bailouts of Fortis, ABN Amro Holding NV and ING Groep NV in 2008 and 2009, pushing up risks and costs for the country’s taxpayers, a parliamentary committee said today.

“The risks the state took upon itself were large and not transparent,” lawmaker Jan de Wit, who headed an investigation into the measures taken by the Dutch authorities, said about the rescue of Fortis’s Dutch units in a statement today. “Execution of the rescue plans was lacking. Valuations used were incomplete and inaccurate.” Information exchange between the Finance Ministry, its adviser Lazard Ltd. and the Dutch central bank was also “insufficient,” he said.