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Bill submitted on Bank Levy
In December 2011, the Minister of Finance submitted a Bill introducing a bank levy. In the explanatory notes to the Bill, the Minister explained that the bank levy should lead to a healthier financial system and better risk control at banks. The bank levy thus complements the proposed ex ante financing of the deposit guarantee system, and the tightening of banks' capital requirements.
The bank levy will be imposed on entities authorised to operate a banking business in the Netherlands. These include not only entities with a banking licence from the Dutch Central Bank, but also EU and EEA entities operating a banking business through a branch office in the Netherlands. The bank levy will be based either on the unconsolidated balance sheet total, or the unconsolidated balance sheet total attributable to the branch office, or the consolidated balance sheet total.
The government's intention is for the Bill to take effect mid 2012.
Bill on Management and Supervision – remedial bill and entry into force
The Minister of Justice does not expect the Bill on Management and Supervision, which was adopted by parliament in May 2011, to enter into force before 1 July 2012.
To clarify the maximum number of supervisory positions that a supervisory director may hold and the types of supervisory positions that qualify, remedial legislation has been submitted to parliament. The restriction on the number of supervisory positions has received a great deal of criticism. As a result, some stipulations in the remedial bill have been clarified and amended.
Corporate Governance Code and Banking Code – monitoring bodies report on compliance
The Monitoring Committee Corporate Governance Code has published its third report. The Committee expresses concerns about legislative initiatives (e.g. bonus clawback) to incorporate sections of the Corporate Governance Code into statutory law. The Committee criticises the legislature for not waiting to see how the Code has been complied with.
The Committee's conclusions over 2011 include:
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compliance with the principles and best practices is good, and parts of the Code are applied by almost all listed companies
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existing arrangements concerning appointment and redundancy payment which deviate from the Code can only be invoked by directors who were appointed before 2004
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a simple referral by a company to its own rules without further elaboration does not constitute an explanation and can be regarded as non-compliance
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the supervisory board's report should provide an insight into its activities, attendance percentages, and evaluation process
In December 2011 the Monitoring Committee Banking Code issued its first integral report on the implementation of the Banking Code, which entered into force on 1 January 2010. The report states that larger banks have made more progress in implementing the Banking Code than other banks. The supervisory board is more intensively involved in risk management than was previously the case.
The Monitoring Committee had published a positive interim report on compliance with remuneration principles in September 2011.
AFM starts pilot on fast-track fines for acting as an intermediary without a licence
The pilot concerns cases involving violations of section 2:80.1 FMSA (acting as an intermediary without a licence) where the offender does not dispute the facts and legal assessment of the facts and cooperates with a fast-track processing of the case. The fine will be reduced and the AFM will report the offender's cooperation when publishing details of the fine. If the offender objects to the fine at a later stage and disputes the facts established during the fast-track procedure or the legal assessment of the facts, the offender will cease to meet the conditions of the fast-track procedure and may lose the right to a fine reduction.