Dutch financial group ABN Amro has reported net profits of €688m for the second quarter of the year and a CET1 ratio of 18.3%.
Regarding at the private banking segment of ABN Amro, net income stood at €180m in Q2 2018, down 3% quarter-on-quarter (€185m in Q1 2018) but up 11% year-on-year (€162m in Q2 2017).
The Dutch group explained the rise was “primarily attributable to margin improvements in the Netherlands and the transfer of clients from retail banking.”
“Compared with Q1 2018, saving volumes increased primarily in the Netherlands,” it said.
The net fee and commission income of ABN Amro’s private banking activities have declined by €8m to €132m. The drop amounts to €5bn, excluding the private banking Asia divestment.
“More clients opted for execution only instead of managed portfolios and the raised client threshold for advisory services resulted in lower advisory volumes. Compared with Q1 2018, net fee and commission income decreased by €5m as Q1 benefited from favourable results,” ABN Amro highlighted in its quarterly results report.
Client assets amounted to €200.9bn, up €0.8bn from Q1 2018, primarily due to market recovery. Though ABN Amro’s private banking arm has faced outflows of -€500m over the second quarter of the year.
Outflows occurred primarily in the international activities and are partly related to the outflow of custody assets, ABN Amro said.
At the end of July, ABN Amro reached an agreement with French group Société Générale for the sale of Société Générale’s private banking activities in Belgium, hence doubling to €12bn the private banking assets of ABN Amro in Belgium.
In addition, last May, the French private banking branch of ABN Amro, Banque Neuflize OBC, has signed an exclusive partnership with French asset manager La Financière de l’Echiquier which has acquired a portfolio of Banque Neuflize OBC’s clients that have less than €500,000 in assets.
