* Regulator fines DSB for overly large loans, bad advice
* Former FinMin and current ABN AMRO CEO was CFO at time
* Bank retains the right to appeal
By Ben Berkowitz
AMSTERDAM, July 1 (Reuters) - The Dutch market regulator has fined privately held DSB Bank for excessive lending practices and giving bad client advice during a period when former finance minister Gerrit Zalm was its financial chief.
Market regulator AFM said in a statement that it had fined DSB 120,000 euros ($168,800) for the infractions, which took place in 2008. During the period, Zalm, who is now the chief executive of nationalised bank ABN AMRO, was its chief financial officer.
An ABN AMRO spokesman said Zalm had no comment on the fines and DSB could not be reached for comment.
The AFM said in a statement that it had fined DSB 96,000 euros for not using appropriate criteria when granting credit, leading to excessively large loans being given to customers who could not afford them.
It also said that it had separately fined DSB another 24,000 euros for giving bad advice to some customers.
The AFM said DSB has the right to appeal the fines.
An AFM spokesman told Reuters that it had found the evidence of the infractions during a review of clients files for the period April 22 to June 19, 2008.
Zalm was chief economist at DSB from July 2007 to December 2007, and then was its CFO until January 2009. Previously, he served 12 years as finance minister in two separate stints, ending in 2007.
Current Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos has said that Zalm is the best person in the country to lead the restructuring of ABN AMRO.
For a NEWSMAKER on Gerrit Zalm, double click on. ($1=.7107 Euro) (Reporting by Ben Berkowitz; editing by Karen Foster)