The Dutch government said Tuesday it will cut bonuses 65% for board members at state-owned bank ABN Amro Holding NV, following growing calls for restricted payments for bankers.

In a letter to parliament, Finance Minister Wouter Bos said bonuses for ABN Amro's executives will be reduced 65% and that they will have fixed annual salaries of EUR600,000. Bonuses will be capped at 60% of these annual salaries and won't be paid if the bank isn't profitable, he added.

The policy is retroactive from Jan. 1, 2009.

In 2007, ABN Amro was acquired by a consortium of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS), Banco Santander SA (STD) and Fortis Holding NV for EUR71 billion. The financial crisis led to a nationalization of Fortis' share in ABN Amro as well as Fortis' Dutch banking and insurance operations.

The Dutch government wants to merge most of these assets to create a new ABN Amro bank, which is expected to be completed in two years.

The new payment scheme at ABN is stricter than the bankers' code of conduct that was launched last year by the Netherlands Bankers' Association. According to this code, board members' bonuses can't exceed their fixed income by more than 100% and will be paid in terms of achieved targets. The code also requires strengthening of governance, risk management and auditing for banks.

-By Maarten van Tartwijk, Dow Jones Newswires; +31 20 571 5201; maarten.vantartwijk@dowjones.com

 
 
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