ABN AMRO to cut 400 jobs as part of reorganisation drive

Dutch banking major ABN AMRO will cut 400 jobs as part of a reorganisation drive and the reductions will be done through natural attrition and internal reallocation.

"The reorganisation is expected to lead to a reduction of approximately 400 FTEs (full-time equivalent), part of which will be realised through natural attrition and internal reallocation," the bank said while announcing its first quarter numbers.

AMB AMRO's net profit for the first quarter of 2013 stood at 415 million euros, 17 per cent lower than the corresponding period a year ago (503 million euros), but was significantly higher compared with the loss of 38 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The bank announced reorganisation in the commercial and merchant banking divisions in order to further improve efficiency.

"The first quarter of 2013 can be qualified as a difficult quarter. The Dutch economy has not recovered and both the number of bankruptcies and unemployment levels continued to rise," ABN AMRO Group Chairman Gerrit Zalm said.

Given the current economic conditions and excluding large items, the profitability of retail banking, private banking and commercial banking held up well, whereas merchant banking posted a sharp decline in profit, the company said.

Zalm noted "as unemployment is still on the rise and no economic growth in the Netherlands is expected for 2013, we remain cautious for the remainder of the year".

Meanwhile, banking major HSBC, too, recently said it plans to axe as many as 14,000 jobs. The Royal Bank of Scotland is also planning to cut 1,400 jobs over the next two years.

With inputs from PTI