The Dutch government is doing everything it can to get the Icelandic authorities to meet their obligations to people who put their savings in internet bank Icesave, finance minister Wouter Bos told MPs on Wednesday night.

But Thursday’s Volkskrant reports that, unlike the British government, the Dutch state is not prepared to guarantee in advance to fully compensate Dutch consumers who have savings with Icesave.
‘If I was to advance the money there is no pressure on the Icelandic government,’ Bos is quoted by the paper as saying during a parliamentary debate last night.
Iceland’s responsibility
The first €20,887 of savings fall under Iceland’s responsibility, while the Dutch state will make up the rest, to a maximum of €100,000. The Icesave accounts of some 120,000 Dutch savers have been frozen since Monday.
In Britain, where 300,000 savers are affected, the government reportedly threatened legal action on Wednesday to ensure savers would be compensated.
Later in the day the Icelandic prime minister Geir Haarde said British claims would have priority, reports the Volkskrant.
‘I am sorry’
According to the paper, Haarde said he is not in talks with Dutch authorities. When asked what Dutch savers should do he replied, ‘I’m very sorry for them,’ says the Volkskrant.
‘We have not yet managed to get assurance from Iceland that it will take responsibility. But we are applying pressure through legal and diplomatic channels and through our the supervisory bodies for the financial services sector,’ Bos told MPs.
Iceland took control of Icesave’s parent bank, Landsbanki, on Tuesday when it ran into financial difficulty.
Takeover is option
Bos said taking over the Dutch savings in Icesave is a serious option.
Dutch savers have deposited some €1.7bn in the internet bank since it launched in the Netherlands in May.
The Icesave Dutch office is now closed and the 30 staff sent home, the Financieele Dagblad reports. Name plates and its letter box have also been removed, the paper says.
The bank’s website carries a statement saying that all transactions made since Monday afternoon have not been processed.
In Britain, Dutch banking group ING has bought up the savings activities of two Icelandic banks in trouble.
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