ABN Amro lifts full-year interest income outlook on higher rates

By Leo Marchandon and Matteo Allievi

(Reuters) -Dutch lender ABN Amro on Wednesday raised its forecast for full-year net interest income (NII) to 6.4 billion euros ($6.98 billion), after it beat second-quarter estimates, sending its shares 3% higher.

ABN Amro's previous forecast of 6.3 billion euros was in line with 2023 levels.

Dutch banking peer ING also lifted its 2024 outlook for total income to more than 22 billion euros after posting second-quarter net interest income above estimates last week.

ABN Amro beat estimates for second-quarter NII, benefiting from a "higher-for-longer" environment for interest rates, trailing some of the euro zone's biggest banks.

"Our results continue to benefit from the good performance of the Dutch economy," CEO Robert Swaak said in a statement, pointing at a housing market rebound amid an increase in new mortgage clients.

The bank's NII, a key measure of earnings on loans minus deposit costs, fell 1% in the second quarter to 1.61 billion euros year-on-year, but beat analysts' forecast of 1.58 billion euros in a company-compiled poll.

Net profit was also above estimates at 642 million euros, but down 26% compared to last year.

The company's CET1 ratio, a measure of capital strength for European banks that compares their core capital against risk-weighted assets, fell to 13.8% from one year ago, in line with analysts' estimates.

Earlier this month, ABN Amro reached a new two-year collective labour agreement which includes a salary increase, raising its personnel expenses to 659 million euros from 612 million one year ago.

However, the bank kept its cost guidance for the year at around 5.3 billion euros.

The lender said it would distribute an interim dividend of 60 euro cents per share on Sept. 11.

The company announced last week that CEO Robert Swaak would step down in 2025, without announcing a candidate for his replacement.

($1 = 0.9168 euros)

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon and Matteo Allievi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Kim Coghill, Peter Graff)