ABN Amro made a profit of 1.2 billion euros last year and therefore, according to the bank, it is time to pay out extra money to shareholders. The bank is going to buy up 500 million euros worth of its own shares. This will benefit the Dutch State, among others, which is a 56 percent shareholder.
A year earlier ABN Amro made its first loss in ten years, of 45 million euros. The bank had to set aside money for when companies would get into payment problems because of the corona crisis. In 2021 this was much less of an issue and the bank also had a number of windfalls. For example, the head office in Amsterdam was sold, leaving ABN Amro with an extra 327 million.
On the other hand, there were non-recurring costs. A settlement of 480 million euros was reached with the Public Prosecutor’s Office for inadequate supervision of money laundering. 340 million euros was set aside to compensate customers who had paid too much interest in the past.
Completely responsible
“It is time for the shareholder, who did not receive a profit distribution in 2020, to start a share buyback program now. This is completely responsible,” says Robert Swaak, the bank’s top boss. He is referring to the bank’s buffers, which have continued to grow over the past year.
Earlier the bank announced that the annual profit distribution to investors will be resumed. In addition, 500 million euros worth of own shares will be purchased. The Dutch government will receive a maximum of 281 million euros of this, writes Finance Minister Kaag in a parliamentary letter. The state’s interest in the bank remains unchanged.
Kaag wants to start phasing out the state’s stake in ABN Amro over time, but it is not known when the next step will be taken. The last time the government disposed of ABN Amro shares was in 2017.
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