BN Amro Reports Net Loss as Restructuring Completed
03/01/2013| 02:13am US/Eastern
By Maarten van Tartwijk
AMSTERDAM--ABN Amro Bank NV said Friday it has completed a restructuring stemming from its troubled past, after reporting that a rise in impairments and restructuring costs pushed it to a fourth-quarter loss.
The Netherlands' third-largest bank by assets reported a net loss of 97 million euros ($127 million) in the final three months of 2012, from a EUR121 million net loss in the same period a year earlier. Earnings were hit by a rise in impairments on bad loans and restructuring costs.
ABN Amro was nationalized in 2008 as part of a rescue operation for former financial giant Fortis. It underwent a large restructuring in the past four years to ready itself for a return to the market, resulting in thousands of job cuts.
ABN Amro said the restructuring is completed and that it will now focus on improving profitability and expand its operations abroad, mainly in wealth management and commercial banking.
"Despite the challenges that lie ahead and the modest economic outlook, we are optimistic," Chief Executive Gerrit Zalm said in a statement. " "We are confident that we have what it takes to succeed."
The Dutch government plans to return ABN Amro to the market, preferably through an initial public offering. But the timing remains uncertain, as the Dutch banking industry is groaning under a weak economy and a deepening slump in the housing and commercial property markets. The problems last month led to the nationalization of SNS Reaal, the fourth-largest bank by assets.
The two other big banks, ING Groep NV (>> ING GROEP) and Rabobank Group, last month reported a sharp increase in bad loans and announced thousands of job cuts to reduce costs.
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