Number of branches of ING, Rabobank and ABN Amro in the Netherlands 2018
Banking is an important service industry in the Netherlands, being responsible for the funding of both international as well as domestic trade. Dutch banking has two important characteristics. Firstly, only a few large institutions dominate its financial markets. In 2015, for example, the five largest Dutch credit institutions, which includes ING, Rabobank and ABN Amro, held approximately 85 percent of the total assets. Secondly, the Dutch banking sector is one of the most concentrated in Europe.
In the period between 2007 and 2016, the total number of banks in the Netherlands decreased from 99 banks in 2007 to 50 banks in 2016. In this period of time, the size of the banking sector as a whole in the Netherlands decreased. The total number of bank offices, for example, reached a total number of approximately 3,400 in 2008. In 2016, this was less than 1,700.