ABN Amro Reports Third Quarter Net Profit Above Market Expectations

Nov 8 (Reuters) – Dutch bank ABN Amro reported third-quarter net profit above market expectations on Wednesday, boosted by higher interest rates and larger loan portfolios.

ABN Amro, one of the three major banks in the Netherlands, recorded a 2% increase in its quarterly net profit, to 759 million euros. Analysts were counting on 583 million euros, according to a consensus reached by the company.

“Credit demand remains good and our mortgage and business loan portfolios have increased,” Robert Swaak, chief executive, said in a statement.

However, the bank’s net interest income (NII), which measures the difference between interest received and the cost of deposits, was 5% lower than in the second quarter and 6% lower than analysts’ expectations, the margins on deposits having been weighed down by rising interest rates on savings accounts, ABN Amro said.

Its net interest income amounted to 1.53 billion euros in the third quarter, an increase of 20% compared to the previous year. (Reporting by Gaëlle Sheehan and Matteo Allievi in ​​Gdansk; French version Mariana Abreu, edited by Kate Entringer)