* Weekend rescue talks failed
* Dutch banks will have to guarantee deposits
* Bankruptcy comes one week after state intervention
(Adds finance minister, Moody's comments)
By Ben Berkowitz
AMSTERDAM, Oct 19 (Reuters) - A Dutch court declared aggressive mortgage lender DSB Bank bankrupt on Monday, leaving other Dutch lenders liable for up to 3.25 billion euros ($4.84 billion) in deposit guarantees.
The finance ministry rejected a last-minute rescue proposal that included a 100 million euro injection of government cash because of the risk it would disappear "into a black hole."
The bank's founder Dirk Scheringa condemned the outcome, saying "we did not go bankrupt, we were simply ruined."
Negotiations to find a buyer for privately-held DSB had been going on since the central bank asked the court last week to appoint administrators following a run which drained 600 million euros ($893 million) from the bank's deposits in just 12 days.
Moody's Investors Service said the failure of DSB was, in its own way, a sign of the government's confidence in the banking sector.
"The collapse of DSB Bank may also indicate an expectation by the central bank that financial markets have become sufficiently stable again to be able to absorb such liquidation without endangering the confidence underpinning the remaining banking system," Moody's said in a report.
Finance Minister Wouter Bos told a news conference there was a risk confidence would continue to be undermined and savings withdrawn at DSB even after a takeover.
"There was a big chance that state money would have disappeared into a black hole," Bos said.
"The fact that someone is drowning is not because nobody comes to the rescue but because he can't swim," Bos said.
SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT
The central bank said it had activated a deposit guarantee system and that it expected eligible savers to be reimbursed by Christmas.
Other banks will have to contribute in proportion to their market share, implying that market leader Rabobank would face a maximum payment of about 1.3 billion euros and ING around 975 million euros.
The final figure is expected to be much lower, though, as asset sales and other offsets lower the burden. Some lenders have speculated that the recovery rate could be as high as 70 percent.
DSB, which acquired an outsized reputation through its heavy TV advertising and high-profile sports sponsorships, was fined by the market regulator in the summer for approving loans which borrowers could not afford.
The government has also launched investigations into how the bank was run.
Those investigations have snared Gerrit Zalm, the former Dutch finance minister and CFO of DSB, who is now chief executive of nationalised bank ABN AMRO. He has said he will cooperate with a probe into his role at DSB.
Dutch football champions AZ Alkmaar, owned by Scheringa, said they may play their Champions League match Tuesday against Arsenal without sponsor DSB's name on their shirts. (Reporting by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by David Cowell) ($1 = 0.6719 euro)