ABN Amro to cut 5,200 jobs by 2028

[AMSTERDAM] ABN Amro Bank outlined a plan to cut 5,200 full-time roles by 2028 as new chief executive officer Marguerite Berard unveiled her vision for the lender.

The Dutch bank vowed a return on equity target of at least 12 per cent by 2028 while targeting a cost to income ratio below 55 per cent, according to a statement ahead of its capital markets day on Tuesday (Nov 25). 

Berard, who succeeded Robert Swaak in April to became the bank’s first female chief, has vowed to cut costs and optimise capital allocation to boost profitability. She’s already kicked off the restructuring at the Amsterdam-headquartered lender, resulting in a reduction about 1,000 full-time roles this year, and earlier this month announced the biggest acquisition by ABN Amro since it was re-listed on the stock exchange a decade ago.

The US$1.1 billion deal to acquire NIBC Bank from Blackstone which will increase ABN Amro’s scale in the Netherlands, is projected to deliver a return of about 18 per cent by 2029 on the capital that ABN Amro is investing. The bank also recently completed the acquisition of German wealth manager Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe

ABN Amro’s shares have risen 80 per cent so far this year. 

Berard, a former BNP Paribas executive, is steering the lender as the Dutch state continues to reduces its stake. The government seeks to cut its holding in ABN Amro to about 20 per cent, from 30.5 per cent previously, it said in September. BLOOMBERG