4.2.2 Dutch banks do not use influence

In the Netherlands, as in the UK, banks do not have a large influence in the companies they finance. In the 1990s the Dutch government, including the then Minister of Finance, Mr W. Kok, promoted more correcting influence by financial institutions, but this never became a fact.1 Although Dutch banks and pension funds held considerable shareholdings, they did not use their voting power to wield influence. With the recent credit crisis and the resulting reduction of bank lending, there is no reason to expect a growing influence of banks on Dutch companies.