The big, bad banks are in the limelight again, as Dutch home buyers pay more for their mortgages than their neighbours; car number plates with the initials of the Dutch Nazi party are authorised to Volkswagen dealers; the extreme left targets the Dutch embassy in Athens in its crusade for social justice; the Polder mosque has to close its doors and Dutch women are happy cleaning at home.

Banks not afraid of investigation
Dutch consumer organisations are calling on the banks to reduce their interest rates on mortgages in the wake of revelations by national competition watchdog NMa, reports populist De Telegraaf. The NMa released preliminary findings which showed that mortgage rate margins have been fatter than in neighbouring countries since mid-2009.

Banks' profit margins are basically the difference between what it costs them to raise the money they lend and the mortgage rates they offer customers. Nrc.next provides us with a coloured graph and a double-page spread to highlight the bargain rates the French and other EU countries enjoy. The NMa show the margins on 5-10 year fixed rate mortgages at around 1.9 percent in the Netherlands compared to 1.25 percent in Germany and 0.75 percent in France. Not surprisingly, small percentages in mortgage margins can make a huge difference in profits.

While there are many unanswered questions, we cannot conclude that the higher Dutch profits are attributable to price agreements, writes Protestant Trouw, citing the NMa report. "High margins are probable due to lack of competition," says NMa director Pieter Kalbfleisch. The Dutch mortgage market is dominated by three large players, explains left-leaning de Volkskrant: Rabobank, ING, which survived the financial crisis with a state bailout, and ABN Amro, which was nationalised to avoid insolvency. Foreign lenders like Belgian Argenta and US GMAC have disappeared off the financial map, Fortis merged with ABN Amro and DSB went bankrupt.

Ignorance amongst consumers plays a big role, claims mortgage advisor Sander van Hamersveld in nrc.next. "They've no idea that interest rates in Belgium or Spain are clearly lower than here…if I show them the list of bank rates from the different banks, then they have to choose one."
So will the bank reduce mortgage rates to placate house owners? If they were to do so, it would be tantamount to a confession, De Telegraaf explains, citing a mortgage broker. The Dutch Banking Association says in de Volkskrant it has nothing to fear from the investigation which is being launched by NMa.

Auto-matic slip-up
The RDW - the organisation that handles all vehicle registration in the Netherlands - made a monumental blunder yesterday, tells De Telegraaf. Some 100 licence plates with the letters NSB were issued yesterday. For the Dutch, the letters spontaneously spark off a strong gut reaction, being the acronym of the Dutch Nazi National Socialist movement.

To add insult to injury, the number plates were allocated to German-made Volkswagen dealers. "When I informed our clients about it, they were shocked. They refused to drive around with that number plate and appealed to us to do something about it," says a sales manager in Almere. "Should never have happened. There are some letter combinations that are absolutely not allowed, and NSB is one of them," a RDW spokesman reassures us. The taboo letter combination has been rectified and processed in the system.

Dutch embassy targeted
All the Dutch dailies run stories on the failed parcel bomb sent to the embassy in Athens. Two people have been arrested in Athens for sending a parcel bomb to the Dutch embassy in the Greek capital.

A spokesperson for the Dutch foreign ministry said the package was not delivered to the embassy but was intercepted by the courier service, after a similar parcel bomb addressed to the Mexican embassy exploded at the courier's offices, de Volkskrant reports.

One of the two men detained is suspected of being a member of an anarchist group Synomosia Pyrinon tis Fotias (Conspiracy of Fire) thought to be behind a string of crude bomb and arson attacks since 2008, AD writes. Splinter anarchist groups are active in Greece because of the government's austerity measures to combat the debt crisis. The national Dutch anti-terrorism department says there's no reason for national concern, AD reassures us.

AD has another bomb story on its front page: some 200 guests of the motorway hotel De Witte Bergen had to remain for hours in the hotel cellar after two thieves stuck a bomb on to the side of a money transport vehicle parked outside. Two security guards were sitting in the armoured vehicle. Luckily, bomb disposal experts managed to give the tale a happy ending. Police didn't manage to track down the perpetrators, but at least they weren't able to take off with the money.

Integrated Muslims don't pay
Polder model generally says "consensus" in Dutch society, a term often used to describe consensus policies in economics or decision-making. In 2008, the Polder Mosque was opened in a neighbourhood in the west of Amsterdam. "A showcase in integration" is how the mosque is often described, writes De Telegraaf - it attracted young Muslims and the sermons were given in Dutch. Now, it has to close its doors. The mosque is unable to pay its bills.

It seems that integrated, often educated Muslims are not so generous when it comes to saving the cause - they form a less loyal congregation, concludes broadsheet NRC Handelsblad. It was hailed as the mosque for all Muslims - Turks, Moroccans, Indonesians - and non-Muslims alike. "People from all walks of life came from all over the country to sample the atmosphere," says chairman Yassine El Ksaihi. "But now the government authorities and the business community have retreated. Giving financial support to religious bodies does not fit into our times." The Polder Mosque's doors will close for good after the Feast of Sacrifice."

Mobile phone and iron: a Dutch girl's best friends
Dutch women don't mind washing, doing the ironing or cleaning the toilet at home, market researcher TNO-Nipo tells us in AD. The majority of women are content to undertake most of the household tasks; 33 percent are even "very satisfied" with the division of chores at home. TNO-Nipo conducted their research among 1,300 Dutch women, aged 18-65.

But, men, don't queue up for the Dutch woman of your dreams: women under 35 put sex as number eight in a "can't-live-without list" after their mobile phone, computer and internet. Women over 50 put sex in ninth place, which, considering their age, is quite high. Regarding the young lasses who prefer their gadgets, researcher Ingrid van der Werf explains: "It's a reaction against the hectic pace of modern life. But what surprises me is that women in general consider family life more important than work." Economist and columnist Heleen Mees: "It completely fits into the image I have of Dutch women - not emancipated."

It will take some time before the Dutch follow in the footsteps of Brazil, where former guerrilla fighter Dilma Rousseff has become the country's first female president.