De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) recorded a loss for the third year in a row in 2025. As expected, the loss was smaller than in the previous year. However, the central bank now expects losses to continue for longer than previously forecast.
The loss for 2025 amounted to €967 million. In 2024, DNB reported a deficit of more than €3 billion. The bank had already warned that it would face several years of losses.
The losses are linked to bonds that eurozone central banks bought in large volumes over several years to stimulate economic activity and raise inflation. These purchases have since stopped. The European Central Bank (ECB) has also lowered interest rates in the eurozone. Even so, DNB’s interest expenses remain higher than its income.
No dividend
As a result, DNB will not pay a dividend to the Dutch state for the time being. The bank expects the losses to decline further in the coming years. However, it now believes they will continue until at least 2028. Earlier projections suggested that 2027 would be the final year of losses.
This change is linked to developments in financial market interest rates. If the ECB decides to raise interest rates in the eurozone later this year, it would further delay DNB’s return to profitability.
Buffers
In its annual report, DNB stressed that its core tasks as a key supervisor of the financial sector are not affected. The bank also said it has sufficient buffers to absorb the expected losses.
“This is not something people in the country need to worry about,” DNB President Olaf Sleijpen said on Tuesday at the presentation of the annual report. “In that respect, we are a different institution from a regular bank; in that case, you would have to worry.”
DNB announced a reorganisation in November to reduce costs. This will also lead to job cuts. Sleijpen said it is not yet clear how many roles will be affected. He expects more clarity next month, when DNB also plans to submit an initial request for advice to its works council.
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
