Latest news with #FerdinandVaandrager
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ABN AMRO Bank NV (ABMRF) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Profit and Lending Growth ...
Net Profit: EUR619 million. Return on Equity: Approximately 10%. Mortgage Portfolio Growth: Increased by EUR1.7 billion. Corporate Loans Growth: Increased by EUR900 million. Fee Growth: Up by 8% compared to Q1 2024. Underlying Costs: Decreased by 5% compared to Q4. CET1 Ratio: 14.7%. Net Interest Income Guidance: Expected between EUR6.2 billion and EUR6.4 billion for the year. Fee and Commission Income Growth: Increased by 1% compared to the last quarter. Underlying Costs Guidance: Expected to be between EUR5.3 billion and EUR5.4 billion for 2025. Impairments: EUR5 million booked in Q1. Cost of Risk Expectation: Below 15 to 20 basis points for 2025. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Sign with ABMRF. Release Date: May 14, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. ABN AMRO Bank NV (ABMRF) reported a solid net profit of EUR619 million for Q1 2025, with a return on equity of around 10%. The bank's mortgage portfolio increased by EUR1.7 billion, and corporate loans grew by EUR900 million, indicating strong lending growth. Fee growth continued, with an 8% increase compared to Q1 2024, supported by contributions from all client units. The bank successfully transitioned to Basel IV, reporting a strong CET1 ratio of 14.7%. ABN AMRO Bank NV (ABMRF) was awarded the overall best European private bank, reflecting its commitment to excellence and innovation in wealth management. Net interest income decreased in Q1, largely due to normalization of treasury results and lower deposit margins. Consumer loans decreased due to repayments, less demand, and the phasing out of legacy products. The bank's net interest margin was under pressure, particularly in the mortgage segment, due to lower margins. There is uncertainty regarding corporate loan growth, with potential delays in investment decisions by clients. The bank faces challenges in maintaining cost discipline, with a focus on controlling insolent expenditures and external hiring. Q: Can you share your initial thoughts on growth opportunities and cost reductions for ABN AMRO, and any updates on capital levels and share buybacks? A: Marguerite Berard, CEO: We have a strong brand, client franchise, and committed teams. Our focus will be on achieving profitable growth, cost discipline, and capital management. We are conducting a strategic review and will share more at our Capital Market Day in November. Ferdinand Vaandrager, CFO: We submitted a proposal to the ECB for model simplification, which will bring stability to our capital position. We expect further improvements over time and will reassess our capital trajectory and share buyback potential in Q2. Q: Have you applied for ECB approval for a share buyback, and what is the potential impact of the SME factor on capital? A: Ferdinand Vaandrager, CFO: We will start discussions in Q2 and provide an update in August. The SME factor could have a EUR2 billion to EUR3 billion impact, and we are optimizing our capital position, as seen with our recent SRT with the European Investment Bank. Q: How are you managing the increase in full-time employees (FTEs) in the corporate center, and will the Capital Markets Day address capital distribution plans? A: Marguerite Berard, CEO: We are managing our cost base to keep it flat compared to last year and internalizing specific skills when necessary. Ferdinand Vaandrager, CFO: We have reached an inflection point in FTE growth and are focusing on operational efficiency. We aim to be predictable and reliable, sticking to our commitments regarding capital distribution timelines. Q: How do you plan to address the deposit franchise and corporate lending given high risk weighting and low ROE? A: Marguerite Berard, CEO: Total deposits have increased, with seasonal effects impacting client deposits. We have a stable deposit franchise. Ferdinand Vaandrager, CFO: We can run the corporate bank profitably, and capital management is a priority. The RWA density may appear high, but it excludes off-balance sheet exposures. Q: What is your mandate from the Board, and how do you view mortgage growth and clearing income? A: Marguerite Berard, CEO: My mandate is to lead the bank into its next strategic phase, covering all aspects, including cost management. Ferdinand Vaandrager, CFO: Mortgage growth continues, with lower margins but higher ROE. Clearing income remains strong, contributing significantly to fee and net interest income. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
RTÉ News
14-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Dutch bank ABN Amro's first quarter profit tops forecasts
Dutch bank ABN Amro has today posted a smaller drop in its quarterly net profit than analysts had expected, sending its shares to a six-year high in early trading. Net profit for the first quarter came to €619m, helped by strong income from fees and commissions and limited impairment charges. Analysts polled by the lender were expecting a profit of €586m on average. The bank's shares touched their highest price since April 2019 at one stage this morning, with JP Morgan analysts highlighting the potential that a share buyback could be unveiled by the next quarterly report in August. "Next quarter, we will assess our capital position in light of a potential share buyback," finance chief Ferdinand Vaandrager told analysts. ABN Amro's CET1 ratio - measuring a bank's liquidity to its risk exposure - rose to 14.7% from 13.8% a year earlier, above analysts' estimate of 14.2%. Its operating costs came down 19% from the previous quarter and stood at €1.31 billion. "After a few quarters of rising costs, we managed to reduce our underlying costs," CEO Marguerite Bérard said in a statement. "To deliver on our guidance of keeping (them) broadly flat compared to last year, cost discipline remains a priority." The bank reiterated its annual cost guidance of €5.3 billion to €5.4 billion. In early April, it imposed a temporary hiring freeze that applied to all of its departments, units and regions of operation. However, its net interest income of €1.56 billion was slightly below analysts' expectations, hurt by margin pressure from mortgages and lower volumes of corporate loans. While roughly stable year-on-year, the interest income declined by €109m from the last quarter, as deposit margins were pushed down by declining interest rates. The European banking sector benefited from rising interest rates during the period of high inflation, but that boost has waned after the European Central Bank cut its key rates seven times over the past year, with another cut expected in June.
Business Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
ABN Amro profit beats estimates on fees, bad loan provisions
[AMSTERDAM] ABN Amro Bank reported first-quarter profit that beat expectations after higher fees and lower-than-forecast provisions for souring loans helped offset the effect of declining interest rates. Profit at the Amsterdam-headquartered bank came in at 619 million euros (S$902.8 million) for the three months through March, compared with the analyst estimate of 543 million euros in a Bloomberg survey. Fee income grew 8 per cent due to higher assets under management and increased trading volumes that drove income from clearing, better than estimated. 'Fee growth is continuing, and the business momentum is good,' chief financial officer Ferdinand Vaandrager said in an interview. The results are the first to be presented by Marguerite Berard, a former BNP Paribas executive who was named to the bank's top role last month. She takes over the reins as the continent's banks grapple with the European Central Bank's interest rate cuts and the potential economic fallout of tariffs. ABN Amro is also working on containing expenses arising out of an increase in staff it had brought in to boost data capabilities and for regulatory programmes over the past year. In April, the firm imposed a hiring freeze to help achieve cost targets. 'After a few quarters of rising costs, we managed to reduce our underlying costs' in the first quarter compared with the previous three months, Berard said in a statement. 'To deliver on our guidance of keeping underlying costs broadly flat compared with last year, cost discipline remains a priority,' she said. The firm forecasts costs of between 5.3 billion euros to 5.4 billion euros this year and reiterated its outlook for net interest income. Berard is set to lead a review of the bank's activities to improve profitability, with ABN Amro's next strategic plan due to be presented at a capital markets day in November. This comes as the Dutch government, which is the lender's largest shareholder since its bailout, is in the midst of reducing its stake to about 30 per cent. ABN Amro has previously said it will provide an update on a potential share buyback along with second-quarter results. BLOOMBERG
Bloomberg
12-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Fed's Powell Urges Patience, UK Downgrades Growth Forecast
Bloomberg Daybreak Europe is your essential morning viewing to stay ahead. Live from London, we set the agenda for your day, catching you up with overnight markets news from the US and Asia. And we'll tell you what matters for investors in Europe, giving you insight before trading begins. On today's show, Jerome Powell tells congress the Fed will be patient before lowering borrowing costs. Meanwhile, the UK's fiscal watchdog downgrades its growth forecast, piling pressure on the government's growth agenda. Today's Guests: ABN Amro CFO Ferdinand Vaandrager, BNP Paribas Markets 360 Equity Derivatives Strategist Benedicte Lowe, Ahold Delhaize Jolanda Poots-Bijl (Source: Bloomberg)
