Netherlands guarantees 100,000 euros for savers with Icelandic bank Icesave

BRUSSELS, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Dutch government has pledged to compensate up to 100,000 euros (about 136,000 U.S. dollars) to Dutch savers who have deposits at the troubled Icelandic Internet bank Icesave.

While making the promise on Thursday night, Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos also stressed that the government will not hesitate to take legal actions against Icesave if it is found to have been dishonest while doing business in the Netherlands, Dutchpaper De Volkskrant reported Friday.

The Dutch central bank, who is the executor of the Dutch deposit guarantee scheme, will assist savers with the submission of their claims, the finance ministry said in a press release on its website.

According to the release, a Dutch delegation is on its way to Iceland to discuss an arrangement of the reimbursements with Icelandic authorities.

The guarantee systems of Iceland and the Netherlands provide that the Icelandic authorities should ensure compensation for the first 20,887 euros of each saver and the Dutch authorities and banks are responsible for the rest of the 100,000 euros, the ministry said in the release.

However, Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde has called on the Hague to guarantee all Dutch savings with the bank. About 120,000 Dutch customers have a combined 1.7 billion euros deposited with the bank, which was launched in the Netherlands in May this year.

The Netherlands obviously lacks enthusiasm about the idea. Bos reiterated on Thursday: "Something has to be done before the (Dutch) taxpayer pays for the collapse of an Icelandic bank."

Bos also threatened to take legal actions. He told the Dutch parliament on Thursday that he will try to find out whether Icesave has adequately informed the Dutch regulator when it applied for a license from the Dutch central bank.

All accounts at Icesave were frozen at the beginning of the week when Icesave's parent company Landsbanki was put under government protection after getting into financial difficulties