By Sabela Ojea
ABN AMRO Bank NV on Wednesday reported a rise in net profit for the second quarter of 2022, which came in significantly above market views, though it also posted higher operating expenses.
The Dutch lender posted a net profit of 475 million euros ($485.1 million), compared with EUR393 million a year earlier. Net profit had been expected to decline to EUR390 million, according to a bank-compiled consensus.
Net interest income decreased to EUR1.27 billion from EUR1.31 billion a year earlier, it said, noting that it booked impairment charges of EUR62 million, down from EUR79 million for the first quarter of 2022. The bank’s net interest income had been anticipated to come in at EUR1.30 billion, taken from the bank’s compiled forecasts.
The bank also said that operating expenses increased to EUR1.32 billion from EUR1.23 billion, topping market views of EUR1.27 billion. ABN AMRO said it expects to close the year with total costs of around EUR5.3 billion, excluding incidentals, “as cost savings are partially offset by higher investments and regulatory levies.”
The lender’s fully loaded CET1 ratio–a measure of a bank’s financial strength–stood at 15.5%, down from 15.7% as of March 31, it said.
“We see no sign of deterioration of the credit environment yet and expect the cost of risk for 2022 to remain below the through-the-cycle cost of risk of around 20 basis points…Prudent buffers are in place against uncertainties in the economic outlook,” Chief Executive Robert Swaak said.
The board has declared an interim dividend of EUR0.32 a share, the lender said.
Write to Sabela Ojea at [email protected]; @sabelaojeaguix
