April 22 2022 years Amsterdam District Court declares Amsterdam Trade Bank (ATB) NV bankrupt on the basis of a statement from bank representatives. This bank is a branch of the Russian Alfa-Bank. The reason for the bankruptcy was the blocking of the software of payment systems as part of sanctions from the US and the UK. As a result, the bank could no longer make payments.
prehistory
ATB Bank has been operating in the Netherlands since 1994. Most depositors live in the Netherlands, almost a quarter - in Germany. At the time of bankruptcy, the institution employed about 150 employees.
Note! According to documents at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, one of the ultimate beneficial owners of ATB Bank is sanctioned Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman. ATB's supervisory board includes three Dutch people, including Lex Hoogduin, a former director of De Nederlandsche Bank. He has yet to comment on ATB's bankruptcy.
In October 2021, the bank underwent structural changes - an innovative FIBR platform, the so-called online bank, appeared in its composition. The purpose of FIBR was to serve small and medium-sized businesses in the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Spain, Ireland and the UK. And now, the FIBR online bank as part of ATB has also gone bankrupt.
According to a report in Financieele Dagblad, prior to the bankruptcy announcement, the owners of ATB tried to sell the bank. At the same time, depositors stated that other European banks are unwilling to accept transfers from ATB, as they are afraid of falling under sanctions.
What compensation will investors receive?
Money in Dutch bank accounts is protected by the Nederlandse Depositogarantie (DNB) deposit guarantee system. Warranty applies to amounts from 1 cent to 100 euros for one contributor.
- The maximum amount of compensation is 100 000 euro per person;
- within 10 working days contributors can tell the DNB which account they want the refund to.
How does the deposit guarantee system work?
In the Netherlands, the bankruptcy of a bank happened for the first time in 13 years - in 2009, DSB bank went bankrupt. And this situation will help to demonstrate the efficiency of the deposit guarantee system.
Deposit Guarantee Funds are now functioning in all countries of the European Union. Such funds are filled with banks of countries. If a bank fails, depositors will be able to receive compensation.
Banks in the Netherlands have been contributing to the Dutch fund since 2016. The size of the deposit from each bank is about 450 million euros. Currently, the fund has raised 3 billion euros. The fund is administered by the Central Bank of the Netherlands.
