ABN Amro profit beats forecast on fee boost, higher interest income
Its net income for the three months to March is 692 million euros, against analyst expectations of 597.2 million euros
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[AMSTERDAM] ABN Amro Bank reported quarterly profit that beat analysts’ estimates, as fee income surged and lending income also rose.
Net income for the three months to March amounted to 692 million euros (S$1 billion), the Amsterdam-headquartered lender said on Wednesday (May 13). This is against analyst expectations of 597.2 million euros in a Bloomberg survey.
CEO Marguerite Berard, who has been at the helm for a year, has sought to cut costs and pull back from less profitable businesses.
She is cutting a net 5,200 jobs by 2028, offloading a personal loan unit and bolstering ABN Amro’s retail banking presence with a 960 million euro acquisition of a Dutch competitor.
Dutch banks, which still largely depend on interest-linked income, are set to benefit from potential rate increases by the European Central Bank as it assesses fallout from the Iran war.
“The Dutch economy has remained resilient so far, although the war in the Middle East has increased uncertainty,” She said. “We maintain a conservative outlook for Dutch house price growth and expect fewer transactions this year.”
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Net interest income – the difference between what the bank earns on loans and pays on deposits – beat estimates in the first quarter.
Fees rose 20 per cent, buoyed by its purchase of German wealth manager Hauck Aufhauser Lampe and the clearing business which has benefited from elevated market volatility, the bank noted.
It also improved its guidance for costs in the full year to about 5.5 billion euros.
The Dutch state, which is ABN Amro’s largest shareholder, has been steadily paring its stake in the lender with a goal of reaching about 20 per cent. Its holding stood at 24.9 per cent, based on a regulatory filing in April. BLOOMBERG
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