Dutch bank ABN Amro is on track for privatisation by year-end, its chief executive said yesterday, after it posted an 86% jump in second-quarter profit on the back of a brightening economy and a sharp fall in bad loans.
Since its nationalisation at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, the bank has shed operations and refocused on Dutch retail and commercial clients, along with a strong international private banking business.
“Our performance, including our financial results, the outlook for the Dutch economy and the fact that preparations for the bank’s IPO are on track for a possible listing later this year give us confidence in the future,” CEO Gerrit Zalm said.
Zalm told reporters at the bank’s Amsterdam headquarters that the market climate is “optimal” for the listing and that he sees “no major obstacles apart from obtaining the necessary licences”.
The bank reported underlying second-quarter net profit of €600mn ($677.4mn), up from €322mn a year earlier.
ABN’s Tier 1 capital ratio, a key measure of solvency for banks, is at 14%, which is high by European standards.
At the end of the quarter the bank reported a book value of €15.9bn, as Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley prepare the bank for a listing in which the Dutch government will sell an initial stake of 25%.
ABN Amro said it had booked “exceptionally low” charges on bad loans and other receivables of €34mn in the three months to June 30, down from €342mn a year earlier. The figure was not representative for the full year, it said.