Market Information Wednesday 5 May 2021

The yield on the Dutch ten-year government bond has increased recently. On Monday, the yield just closed under zero percent. Yesterday yields decreased again. This would mean the end of a negative interest period on the bond for almost two years. This is particularly good news for pension funds, as the low interest rates put pressure on their funding ratios.

In the first quarter of 2021, fewer companies went bankrupt than in the same quarter in 2020, according to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The total number of bankruptcies is equal to 30,200, which is 9,000 fewer than last year. A possible cause for the difference between 2020 and 2021 is the government’s current measures to support companies.

A new study by the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) shows that on average Dutch households hold too little savings in the bank. A lot of savings are stuck in a pension fund or are invested in their own home. This makes financial setbacks more difficult to absorb. The advice given by Nibud to absorb financial setbacks is a buffer of EUR 3,500 to EUR 6,000. In practice, this buffer turns out to be less than EUR 2,500 for a quarter of Dutch households.

The 6M Euribor is unchanged at -0.52% compared to previous business day. The 10Y Swap decreased with 4 basis points to 0.10% compared to previous business day.

In the attachment, today’s market data on money and capital market rates as well as other rates are presented.