Amsterdam  - Analysts feared another black day on the Dutch stock exchange on Tuesday after the US House of Representatives rejected a rescue plan for the US financial sector.

Speaking on Dutch television early Tuesday, Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos called the US rejection of the rescue plan a "heavy blow."

On Monday, Belgian-Dutch bank and insurance giant Fortis lost 23 per cent of its share value despite the takeover of 49 per cent of the bank by the governments of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Sunday's deal on Fortis bank also included the sale of Dutch banking division ABN Amro bank, for which Fortis paid more than 24 billion euros in October 2007 during the takeover of ABN Amro with Banco Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Economist Alex Klein of Nijenrode University said on Tuesday on Dutch television that he does not exclude the possibility of a global depression.

Klein referred to the dramatic drops on the Dutch and US stock exchanges on Monday following the Fortis takeover and the rejection of the US rescue plan.

"This demonstrates we have not only a credit crisis, but also a credibility crisis. The public and investors have lost their confidence in banks, but also in governments," Klein said.

On Tuesday, Dutch ABN Amro bank published adverts in all of the Dutch daily newspapers telling its customers the bank has "an autonomous financial position and a healthy balance of payments which easily meets all requirements set by the Dutch central bank."

Dutch ING bank meanwhile released a short statement saying it will not make a bid on ABN Amro. If the bank was to take over ABN Amro within the current market circumstances, it would no longer meet its own financial requirements, the bank said.

On Monday, speculation about a possible bid by ING soared, resulting in a loss of 18 per cent of its share value. Investors feared ING would release more shares in order to finance a possible purchase. (dpa)