Jobs in the most important parts of the financial services sector in Amsterdam have fallen by 25% since 2001, reports Tuesday’s Volkskrant.

The number of jobs with banks, asset management firms and stock markets has decreased to 30,500 from over 39,000 nine years ago. The credit crisis accelerated the downward trend last year, says the paper.
The shrinking of the financial services sector is in contradiction to the Netherlands’ ambition to become a leading international financial centre. The country went down seven places to 31st position in international ratings this year, the Volkskrant points out.
According to Ewald Engelen, financial geologist at Amsterdam University, the reduction in top level financial services jobs is the result of ‘structural factors’ and has the Netherlands has ‘little future’ in this sector, reports the paper.