Published Wed, Feb 11, 2026 · 04:46 PM
[AMSTERDAM] ABN Amro Bank reported fourth-quarter profit that missed analyst expectations on higher-than-expected expenses and provisions for bad loans. The Dutch lender also announced 500 million euros (S$752.4 million) in shareholder payouts.
Its net income was 410 million euros in the three months till December, against analyst expectations of 497.4 million euros on average in a Bloomberg survey.
The capital distribution plan is split equally between cash dividends and a share buyback programme, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday (Feb 11) in Amsterdam.
ABN Amro is in the midst of a shake up as chief executive officer Marguerite Berard vowed to boost its returns and ability to compete.
She is cutting a net 5,200 jobs by 2028 from 2024, selling a personal loan unit and planning to explore outsourcing its credit card business.
Net interest income, or the difference between what the bank earns on loans and pays on deposits, was unchanged in the quarter, while the bank set aside 70 million euros for bad loans. Its operating expenses amounted to 1.6 billion euros.
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It has also been stepping up its acquisitions within its core market of north-west Europe. The bank completed the purchase of German wealth manager Hauck Aufhauser Lampe in July.
In Q4 2025, it agreed to buy NIBC Bank from Blackstone, for about 960 million euros, to grow in Dutch retail banking.
The Amsterdam headquartered-bank pledged to increase its return on equity to at least 12 per cent at its recent investor day, and is targeting a cost-to-income ratio – a measure of efficiency – of below 55 per cent in 2028.
The restructuring moves come amid the sell down of the Dutch government’s stake in the lender to about 20 per cent, from 30.5 per cent previously. The state, which bailed out ABN Amro after the 2008 financial crisis, remains its largest shareholder.
During Q4, the bank completed a significant risk transfer with Blackstone that is tied to two billion euros in large corporate loans. The transaction was expected to cut the bank’s risk-weighted assets by 1.6 billion euros, it added. BLOOMBERG
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