Europe's Collection Agencies and Credit Bureaux industry has contended with numerous challenges in recent years. Lending activity has been muted as businesses became cautious about borrowing in the face of turbulent economic conditions and rising interest rates, draining the pool of debt available for collection. Revenue is expected to fall at a compound annual rate of 3.8% over the five years through 2024 to €19.6 billion, including an estimated decline of 3.2% in 2024. In recent years, the industry has witnessed a significant transformation driven by digitalisation. Collection agencies and credit bureaux embraced digital platforms and automation tools to streamline processes, enhance data analysis efficiency and improve consumer communication. The integration of AI and alternative credit scoring models has revolutionised credit assessment practices, offering more inclusive evaluation methods and personalised debt collection strategies. The adoption of blockchain technology for secure data management has also gained traction, promising enhanced data security and transparency across operations. Revenue is slated to mount at a compound annual rate of 2.7% over the five years through 2029 to €22.5 billion, while profit is also expected to edge upwards. Looking ahead, Europe's collection agencies and credit bureaux are poised for further evolution and innovation. Expanding alternative data sources for credit assessment will provide more comprehensive credit profiles and improve risk assessment accuracy. Companies will also continue to integrate blockchain technology for secure data management, offering increased data security, fraud prevention and operational efficiencies.

In 2019, approximately 139 insurance companies operated on the Dutch total market. The "life" branch of insurances focuses on life insurances, pensions and funeral in kind insurances with Nationale-Nederlanden, Achmea and SRLev being the leading companies in this branch in the Netherlands. In 2006, the market share of life insurance business in terms of gross premium, the ratio of gross life insurance premium to the total gross premium, reached a value of approximately 56 percent. This, however, decreased to approximately 44 percent in 2015. This development coincides with the European Central Bank purchasing assets on credit markets across Europe and, consequently, low interest rates in long-term investments, such as the capital market rate of ten-year government bonds in the Netherlands. From 2006 onwards, the number of companies offering life insurance products decreased steadily. In 2005, there were approximately 311 companies active on the domestic market with 227 companies by the end of 2011.

This statistic shows the household credit flow in the Netherlands from 2006 to 2019 as share of GDP. The households sector credit flow shows by how much debts of households and non-profit institutions have increased (or decreased), excluding price developments of bonds and money market paper. Debts include only securities (excluding shares and derivatives) and loans, and are consolidated, i.e. debts within the same sector are not included. A high credit flow to households and non-profit institutions serving households increases the vulnerability of these sectors to developments in the business cycle, interest rates and inflation. Strong price fluctuations in financial and non-financial assets may also have their origin in changes in the credit flow. The European Commission has set only an upper limit for the total private credit flow (including non-financial corporations): +14 per cent. In 2019, the debts of households increased with approximately 1.2 percent.

In 2019, the Netherlands reached an insurance density of 4,822 U.S. dollars. Insurance density is a measure to gauge a country's insurance market, specifically the gross premiums paid in relation to the inhabitants of the measured country. There were approximately 147 insurance companies on the Dutch market at the end of 2018.

The "life" branch of insurances focuses on life insurances, pensions and funeral in kind insurances with Nationale-Nederlanden, Achmea and SRLev being the leading companies in this branch in the Netherlands. In 2006, the market share of life insurance business in terms of gross premium, the ratio of gross life insurance premium to the total gross premium, reached a value of approximately 56 percent. This, however, decreased to approximately 16 percent in 2018. This development coincides with the European Central Bank purchasing assets on credit markets across Europe and, consequently, low interest rates in long-term investments, such as the capital market rate of ten-year government bonds in the Netherlands.

Key information about Netherlands Household Debt

• Netherlands Household Debt reached 1,211.1 USD bn in Sep 2024, compared with the reported number of 1,153.3 USD bn in the previous quarter
• Netherlands Household Debt: USD mn data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1999 to Sep 2024
• The data reached an all-time high of 1,279.7 USD bn in Jun 2011 and a record low of 388.3 USD bn in Jun 2001

CEIC converts quarterly Household Debt into USD. Statistics Netherlands provides Household Debt in EUR. The Federal Reserve Board period end market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Household Debt includes NPISH.


Further information about Netherlands Household Debt

• In the latest reports, Netherlands Household Debt accounted for 97.4 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Sep 2024
• Money Supply M2 in Netherlands increased 1,216.5 USD bn YoY in Oct 2024
• Netherlands Foreign Exchange Reserves was measured at 6.8 USD bn in Nov 2024
• The Foreign Exchange Reserves equaled 0.1 Months of Import in Oct 2024
• Netherlands Domestic Credit reached 1,809.8 USD bn in Aug 2024, representing an drop of 4.7 % YoY

Key information about Netherlands Reserve Requirement Ratio

• Reserve Requirement Ratio: Overnight Deposit, Debt Securities, Money Market Paper: Netherlands was set as 1.0 % in Feb 2025
• Netherlands Reserve Requirement Ratio data updated monthly, available from Jan 1999 to Feb 2025
• The data is reported by CEIC Data
• In the latest reports, Netherlands Money Supply M2 increased to 1,170.2 USD bn YoY in Jan 2025
• Foreign Exchange Reserves in Netherlands was measured at 6.9 USD bn in Jan 2025.
• The Foreign Exchange Reserves equaled 0.1 Months of Import in Jan 2025
• Netherlands Domestic Credit reached 1,683.4 USD bn in Dec 2024, representing an drop of 1.7 % YoY
• The country's Non Performing Loans Ratio stood at 1.6 % in Sep 2024, compared with the ratio of 1.6 % in the previous quarter
• Household Debt of Netherlands reached 97.4 % in Sep 2024, accounting for 97.4 % of the country's Nominal GDP

The European Central Bank provides Reserve Requirement Ratio.