Follow-up by AFM and DNB on a motion of Aukje de Vries regarding a more independent set up of the objection proceedings for suitability assessments

Published on 18-06-2018

Last September, the House of Representatives adopted the “Aukje de Vries motion” on a more independent set up of the objection proceedings in respect of the suitability assessments of the AFM and DNB. On 13 June, the Minister of Finance informed the House of Representatives about the follow-up by the AFM and DNB (link, in Dutch).

The AFM and DNB introduce various external elements to increase independence during the assessments (link, in Dutch). In addition to an independent chair of the hearing committee in the objection proceedings, they will appoint external experts and a confidential advisor. This will also increase the independence of the initial decision-making process.

The external experts will be involved in the most complex assessments. In these cases, the expert will receive the complete file and he or she is part of the team that carries out the assessment, including a weighty role in the decision-making process. The confidential advisor has a mediating role by hearing the arguments of both parties and avoiding (further) escalation, he or she works independently and confidentially and can introduce new proposals in order to improve the cooperation during the assessment and the process in general. Moreover, the confidential advisor can put forward proposals to restore the relationship between the parties involved.