De Volksbank () is a Dutch
retail bank
Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking. Banking servi ...
offering financial products to both companies and individuals. Prior to a 2017 restructuring, it was called SNS Bank, which remains its major
brand name. It became a subsidiary of
SNS Reaal in 1997 when the holding company bought the insurance company Reaal. The bank and its parent were
rescued
"Rescued" is a song by American Rock music, rock band Foo Fighters. Released on April 19, 2023, it is the first single by the band since the death of longtime drummer, Taylor Hawkins, and the first from their eleventh studio album, ''But Here We Ar ...
by the Dutch government in 2013 and have been state owned since then. In 2016, SNS Bank was the fourth-largest bank in the Netherlands in terms of total assets.
History
The history of the bank goes back to 1817 when the first Netherlands
savings bank ( nl, spaarbank) was established as Nutsspaarbank. The saving bank movement was part of a campaign to encourage individual citizens to save for their future. The savings banks used these funds to provide
mortgages
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...
to individuals who would otherwise not have the ability to buy their own house, much like the
building society
A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending. Building societies exist in the United Kingdo ...
movement in the UK.
In 1987 a merger with several regional banks, including ''Gelders-Utrechtse Spaarbank'' en ''Spaarbank Limburg,'' formed SNS Bank.
SNS is an abbreviation for ''Samenwerkende Nederlandse Spaarbanken'' (English: "Co-operating Dutch savings banks"). The
holding was called Sanes Holding N.V.
The second half of the 20th century saw a big consolidation of spaarbanks in the Netherlands. Some joined SBS Bank, while others joined VSB (, en, United Savings Bank), which later became part of
Fortis
Fortis may refer to:
Business
* Fortis AG, a Swiss watch company
* Fortis Films, an American film and television production company founded by actress and producer Sandra Bullock
* Fortis Healthcare, a chain of hospitals in India
* Fortis Inc ...
. In 1990, following several more mergers, SNS Bank N.V. and its holding company SNS Groep N.V. were formed.
In 1997, SNS Groep N.V. and insurer REAAL Group N.V. merged into
SNS REAAL N.V.
The holding company was listed on the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam on May 18, 2006. On December 4, 2006, it was announced that SNS REAAL would purchase ''RegioBank'' from
ING Bank in a €50M deal.
On February 1, 2013 SNS Bank and its parent SNS REAAL were nationalized by the Dutch government to save it from
default
Default may refer to:
Law
* Default (law), the failure to do something required by law
** Default (finance), failure to satisfy the terms of a loan obligation or failure to pay back a loan
** Default judgment, a binding judgment in favor of ei ...
. Investors were expropriated as a result of the nationalization and originally, the Ministry of Finance did not want to provide any compensation at all, but in February 2021, after years of legal proceedings, a Dutch court ruled that the government must pay 804 million euros plus interest to them.
In September 2016 it was announced that SNS Bank would be called De Volksbank as of 1 January 2017.
De Volksbank has a single banking permit and continues to operate under multiple brand names, including SNS Bank,
ASN Bank, BLG Wonen and
RegioBank.
See also
*
SNS REAAL
References
External links
SNS Bank websiteDe Volksbank Website{{Dutch financial services companies
Banks of the Netherlands
Banks established in 1817
1817 establishments in the Netherlands
Banks under direct supervision of the European Central Bank