Rabobank sees profit rise 41 pct. to €1.5 billion

The recovering Dutch economy is good news for Rabobank. In the first half of this year the bank booked a profit of 1.5 billion euros, an increase of 41 percent compared to last year.  This is according to Rabobank's interim figures, which were released on Thursday, NRC reports. The bank only lost 356 million euros on credits for clients that ended up in financial trouble due to the economic crisis. That is a decrease of 70 percent compared to the same period last year, and well below the long term average. Rabobank's loan portfolio grew by just more than 1 percent to 434.4 billion euros. This is not so much due to the recovering economy leading to a higher demand for loans however. The increase is primarily attributable to the depreciation of the euro. Deposits increased a fraction to 382.2 billion euros. Savings increased by 1 percent to 143.5 billion euros and customers continued making extra repayments on their mortgages. According to the bank, the damage caused by the economic crisis has not been fully repaired yet. The number of bankruptcies and the persistently high unemployment rate remain concerns.