ABN Amro sees profits nearly double thanks to higher interest rates

ABN Amro booked a net profit of 870 million euros in the second quarter of this year, almost double compared to the 475 million euros in quarter two of last year. “In the second quarter, we again delivered a very strong financial result, driven by high net interest income,” CEO Robert Swaak said.

The bank also profited from the fact that customers continued to pay their loans, so it had to push less money into its write-off fund for bad loans. “The Dutch economy cooled down somewhat, and uncertainty and persistently high inflation continued to put pressure on our clients,” Swaak said. But despite this, the credit quality “remained solid’ in the second quarter. “The impact of the economic slowdown on our loan portfolio so far remains limited.”

ABN Amro is still working on cutting costs but no longer expects to reach its targets for next year. Inflation remains high, and it still spends a lot of money on anti-money laundering (AML) checks. “More effort than expected is required to ensure that our ongoing AML activities are at a sustainable and adequate level and meet regulatory requirements,” Swaak said.

The bank is keeping its buffers in place against uncertainties in the economic outlook.