ABN Amro beats on profit, boosts key revenue source outlook

Published Wed, Aug 12, 2026 · 04:56 PM

[AMSTERDAM] ABN Amro Bank reported quarterly profit that beat analysts’ estimates on higher fees and growth in lending income, prompting the Dutch bank to raise the outlook for its biggest revenue source. 

The Amsterdam-headquartered bank posted net income for the three months through June of 780 million euros (US$900 million), according to a statement on Wednesday (Aug 12). That compares with the average analyst estimate of 660.1 million euros in a Bloomberg survey. 

Chief executive oficer Marguerite Berard is expanding ABN Amro’s clearing and private banking businesses, which both drove growth in the quarter. She has also prioritised cost control and efficiency, including by cutting jobs and deploying artificial intelligence.

“We see very good progress in this trajectory,” Berard said on a call with reporters. “This is about simplifying our IT”, structures and improving productivity, she said.

The lender’s shares rose as much 6.3 per cent in Amsterdam to the highest since it was relisted on the stock exchange in 2015. 

This month ABN Amro announced the completion of the acquisition of NIBC Bank from Blackstone for 875 million euros, a move aimed at strengthening the lender’s presence in the Dutch retail market. The integration of a previous acquisition –German private bank Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe– buoyed results in the quarter. 

Net interest income–the difference between what the bank earns on loans and pays on deposits–rose 11 per cent in the second quarter, while fees were 25 per cent higher, both beating estimates. Geopolitical tensions sparked a flurry of activity on markets, benefiting both the clearing and wealth management businesses.

Like other Dutch banks, which are still heavily dependent on interest income, ABN Amro is also expected to gain from further tightening of monetary policy after the European Central Bank’s June rate increase. The lender now expects commercial net interest income for the year to be 6.8 billion euros. It previously said the metric would reach about 6.4 billion euros, excluding the intended acquisition of NIBC. 

ABN Amro “continues to execute on its plan,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Anke Reingen wrote in a note to clients. The bank’s “strong” capital generation is “setting ABN up well” to distribute excess funds to shareholders, she said. 

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The Dutch government, which remains ABN Amro’s largest shareholder after a bailout in the financial crisis, has continued to sell down its stake in the bank. The state’s shareholding now stands at about a fifth, according to the latest disclosure. BLOOMBERG