Dutch insurance companies and other financial institutions that want to invest in the defense industry can expect guidance from the government, said Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans.
“What I’ve experienced so far with insurers like NN, but also with banks, is a willingness to invest, since they do see security threats and realize there is a role for financial institutions there,” Brekelmans said in an interview Wednesday at the World Economic Forum. “But the question is, if they want to allocate those funds, how can we get them to the defense companies?”
For these insurers, the defense industry is “quite unknown territory” given their previous lack of investments. The minister said he wants to help those industries, not just through changing regulations, but also by pointing toward specific types of companies they could invest in.
This way, the government can offer assistance to banks, insurance companies and private equity funds, which all share the same problem: They “want to invest in this category but do not want to make assessments of individual companies themselves,” he said.
Brekelmans’ remarks confirm reports in Dutch news outlets that insurance companies like NN Group NV are in talks with the government to make capital funding available for defense spending. It also reaffirms the cabinet’s preference for private capital, instead of relying on new Eurobonds or joint debt.
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