In total, 27 bankers earned more than €1m in the Netherlands last year, compared with 36 in 2011, according to figures from European banking regulator EBA.

But in the rest of Europe, the number of bankers earning more than €1m rose by almost 400 to 3,730, the banking watchdog said.

Britain led the way with 2,714 high earners, followed by Germany (212), France (177), Italy (109) and Spain (100).

At the beginning of this week, Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem published his plans to reduce banking bonuses to a maximum 20% of salary.