Press Release: ABN AMRO reports net profit of EUR 673 million for Q3 2017

ABN AMRO reports net profit of EUR 673 million for Q3 2017

  • Net profit up 11% compared with Q3 2016

  • The mortgage, commercial and corporate loan books all showed growth in constant currencies

  • Costs continued to trend down, benefiting from cost-saving programmes

  • Loan impairments remained low, reflecting the strong performance of the Dutch economy

  • ROE for Q3 2017 was 13.8% (9M 2017: 15.7%) and the cost/income ratio was 56.9% (9M 2017: 57.3%)

  • On track to achieve financial targets

  • Strong capital position, fully-loaded CET1 ratio of 17.6%, and pro forma leverage ratio of 4.0%

Kees van Dijkhuizen, CEO, comments:

`ABN AMRO had a good third quarter. The Q3 2017 net profit came to EUR 673 million, up 11% year-on-year. All major loan books (the mortgage, commercial and corporate loan books) showed continued growth in constant currencies. Operating income showed a small decline year-on-year, due mainly to divested activities, lower Markets and Clearing fees, Private Equity results and accounting effects. Costs are trending down as the benefits from the IT transformation programme and cost-saving programmes are coming through. Over the first nine months of the year, the cost/income ratio improved to 57.3% (9M 2016: 61.8%) and the return on equity increased to 15.7% (9M 2016: 13.4%), also benefiting from the gain on the sale of Private Banking Asia and low impairments. Our capital position remained strong, with a fully-loaded CET1 ratio of 17.6% at the end of September 2017.

We have broadened our strategic commitment to sustainable banking. As from 2018, sustainable investments will be the norm for new Private and Retail Banking clients in the Netherlands. We will also be contacting existing clients to discuss a - purely voluntary - switchover from traditional to sustainable investments. Our goal is to double the volume of sustainable client assets in the next three years from EUR 8 billion to EUR 16 billion. Our commitment to sustainable banking is reflected in a further improvement of our score in the RobecoSAM annual sustainability assessment, which serves as the basis for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. With a score of 91 points out of 100 - compared with 87 points in 2016 - ABN AMRO is one of the best performing banks worldwide in this ranking.

A year ago, we announced our intention to set up small innovators in each business which would develop new and enhanced services for our clients in a short time frame. New10, a fully digital lender offering business loans ranging between EUR 20,000 and EUR 1 million, was launched in September. New clients will receive a credit decision within 15 minutes of submitting an application. New10 went from concept to launch in ten months. In Germany we will shortly be launching Prospery, a digital wealth manager that offers clients wealth and investment management through a digital platform combined with a personal financial expert - all at a unique fixed flat rate. Prospery is the first digital player in Europe to deliver such a comprehensive digital wealth management proposition.`