Dutch state nationalises SNS Reaal bank Mr Dijsselbloem, who has just been named head of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, said that SNS Reaal's chief executive officer and chief financial officer had resigned. "I can fully understand people's resistance to the fact that once again a large amount of money is needed to save a bank - and especially now that when we are going through a financially difficult time," he said. Shares in SNS Reaal have plunged in recent days amid speculation that the government would nationalise the bank. Mr Dijsselbloem said the €3.7bn would consist of a €2.2bn capital injection, €800m to write off previous state support and €700m to isolate the bank's problematic property portfolio. "The state will also supply €1.1bn in bridging credit and €5bn in guarantees," he said. In January, the European Commission blocked a plan by three other Dutch banking giants, ABN Amro, ING and Rabobank to help SNS with a capital investment, on competition grounds saying that ABN and ING had themselves previously received state aid. The three bigger Dutch banks are now to contribute €1bn to the bail-out in 2014 but in a different form, the finance ministry said. The bail-out will have an impact on the Dutch economy, increasing the 2013 deficit by 0.6 per cent and debt by 1.6 per cent. The expropriation of shareholders and subordinated bond holders means that the Dutch state saves €1bn, the ministry said. "The necessity for the state to once again intervene, especially considering the previous state interventions in 2008, is a blow to our efforts to make the Dutch financial sector robust again and get it back on its feet," Dijsselbloem acknowledged. The Dutch government nationalised SNS Reaal using a new Intervention Law for the first time. The law came into force in June 2012 and allows the state to demand that those holding bonds issued by a bank contribute to rescuing the bank if it fails. Last year, the European Commission put forward proposals for bank bailouts that would also require bond and shareholders rather than the taxpayer to pay. The Commission has said it will draw up a directive for dealing with bank bailouts by the summer. Trading in SNS Reaal shares was suspended on the Amsterdam stock exchange at 0.84 euros, down from a high point of about €15 in 2008, before the financial crisis. Tom Muller, an analyst at Theodoor Gilissen private bankers, said the intervention was a good example for other European Union countries. It showed that "even in a healthy country like the Netherlands, these situations of unaccountability will no longer be tolerated." "These situations must be tackled," he said. But Mr Muller said he believed today's intervention could have negative implications for Dutch banks' ratings, with Fitch ratings agency warning last month that expropriation could have serious consequences.