Dutch bank group ABN AMRO posts 11% quarterly profit rise

Dutch bank group ABN AMRO on Friday said its third quarter profit rose by 11 percent after releasing a provision set aside for Greek loans. The lender's net income rose to 390 million euros (about 525 million U.S. dollars) in the third quarter of 2013, up from 351 million euros in the same period of 2012. The increase was boosted by a release of 101 million euros from a provision for Greek loans, it said. "Overall, this is a satisfactory result considering the difficulties the Dutch economy is facing," Gerrit Zalm, Chairman of ABN AMRO Group said. According to Zalm, some economic indicators suggest that the crisis has past its peak, but "we remain very cautious," he said. The Dutch economy has been suffering from drops in consumer income and rising unemployment. However, house prices have stabilized during the third quarter and consumer confidence is also improving, earlier reports published by the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics showed.