The Dutch online bank BinckBank has seen its transactions contract by around 10% in Belgium since the beginning of the year. This is compared to other markets where it has a presence (the Netherlands, France and Italy).
This decrease may be explained by the introduction of the so-called Tobin tax, says the BinckBank president Vincent Germyns. In October, Mr Germyns had not ruled out the possibility of the bank exiting the Belgian market, owing to this new tax. “We have still not ruled it out but it is not on the imminent agenda,” he stated. The BinckBank boss remains highly critical of this tax.
However, Mr Germyns is pleased with the bank’s 2015 Belgium profits. The number of transactions decreased by 12% in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter. “However, the first nine months were significant with 200,393 online taking account of projections,” he explains.
In 2015 the number of investment accounts increased by 1% to 64,162. BinckBank handled a total of 2.7 billion euros across its Belgian customer accounts.
(Source: Belga)
