Dutch to Introduce 'Drivers License for Bankers'

Getting a proper business education at a good school and finding a job in the banking industry was already hard enough — but now, in the Netherlands, you'll have to pass a government test to keep it.

The Dutch finance ministry confirmed Thursday that it intends to implement a banking test within the next year that would be a requirement for serving on a board in the sector.

No one will be immune — including the previous finance minister, Gerrit Zalm, who is now running the nationalized operations of ABN Amro.

A spokeswoman for Finance Minister Wouter Bos said the test will be something like "a driver's license for bankers."

But she also said that much is yet to be determined, including who will draft the test and who will administer it.

Bos has said the Dutch central bank, the DNB, should be somehow involved in the process.

The idea for the test came from a commission, headed by former ING Finance Chief Cees Maas, that was given the task of finding ways to restore public confidence in banks. It issued its report in early April.

But the Dutch public does not seem to be especially reassured by the idea; a poll on Thursday morning in national newspaper De Telegraaf found 85 percent of the public would not trust bankers any more if they took a test than if not.

The Dutch banking sector has been hit especially hard by the global credit crisis, denting the country's reputation as an international financial centre.

Last October, the government nationalized the local operations of Fortis amid a crisis of confidence, and then in short order had to inject billions of euros of capital into ING, Aegon and SNS Reaal.

Regulators in other countries have also suggested that those running banks need more of a background in banking in order to hold top positions.

Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.