The Dutch central bank has imposed a €15 million fine on ABN AMRO Bank N.V. for repeatedly breaching bonus restrictions that were put in place following the financial crisis.

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) found that ABN AMRO awarded and paid bonuses totalling more than €1.5 million to officials in seven second-tier management positions between 2016 and 2024, despite being explicitly prohibited from doing so.

The bonus ban applies to financial institutions that received state aid during the financial crisis, including ABN AMRO, which was nationalised in 2008. The restrictions cover both executive board members and second-tier management officials whose activities could materially affect the institution's risk profile.

DNB also discovered that one official received salary increases of 11.4 per cent and 28.8 per cent in consecutive years, far exceeding the permissible collective wage increases of 1.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively.

The regulator said ABN AMRO's actions were particularly serious because the bank initially halted bonus payments when confronted by supervisors, but later resumed and expanded the practice.

"ABN AMRO then initially halted the payment of bonuses. However, at a later date, ABN AMRO decided not only to resume paying out the bonuses, but also to award a new tranche of bonuses," DNB said in its decision.

The central bank added: "In doing so, ABN AMRO deliberately allowed its non-compliance with the bonus ban to continue for an extended period of time and went against the supervisory authority's explicit instructions."

ABN AMRO said it accepted the fine and had now adjusted its application of the bonus ban. "Although we applied the bonus rules in good faith, we acknowledge that our interpretation was incorrect and regret this," the bank said in a statement, adding it was "aware of the possible societal impact".

DNB said the severity of the fine reflected the persistent nature of the non-compliance and the high degree of culpability. The regulator noted that such breaches damage society's confidence in financial institutions, particularly given banks' important role in ensuring a smoothly functioning economy.

The Dutch state has been gradually reducing its shareholding in ABN AMRO since 2015 and remains the bank's largest shareholder with a stake of less than one-third.

ABN AMRO has six weeks from receipt of the fine notification to lodge an objection with the regulator.

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