ABN Amro: reports first-quarter loss, hurt by bad loans

(CercleFinance.com) - Dutch bank ABN Amro said on Wednesday that it made a loss in the first quarter of 2020, as it set aside cash to cover bad loans due to the Covid-19 pandemic, lower oil prices and troubled financial markets.


The lender reported a net loss of 395 million euros for the first three months of 2020, compared with a profit of 478 million euros in the same period a year ago.

At 1.1 billion euros, impairments were "very high", the bank said, due to two exceptional client files and significant provisioning for sectors immediately impacted by Covid-19 and oil prices.

ABN Amro warned last month it would incur a net loss of 200 million dollars (about 180 million euros) on one of its US clients due to the market meltdown that followed the outbreak of the pandemic.

In its statement this morning, the bank said it has "strong" fundamentals, but announced that it will review its strategy to ensure that it delivers on its strategic pillars going forward.

ABN Amro said it will provide an update after the summer, also addressing operational efficiency, financial targets and capital.

Its shares were down over 6% on Euronext Amsterdam following these results.

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