ABN Amro sees profit rise

ABN Amro is one of Europe's biggest retail banks

ABN Amro, one of Europe's biggest retail banks, has seen its profits rise marginally on Thursday.

The Dutch bank has been hit by exposure to bad debts, as clients fail to pay back loans, while revenues slide in the bad economic climate.

Despite the momentum in our businesses, we believe that given the geo-political uncertainties at this point and the potential impact of these uncertainties on the global economy, a net profit outlook based on economic assumptions only is not very realistic

ABN Amro chief executive Rijkman Groenink

For 2002, it posted a 2.1% increase in net profit to 2.4bn euros (£1.6bn).

The bank made 685m euros in the fourth quarter, which was an increase of almost 30% from a year ago, beating analyst expectations.

But it also warned markets remained tough.

"Despite the momentum in our businesses, we believe that given the geo-political uncertainties at this point and the potential impact of these uncertainties on the global economy, a net profit outlook based on economic assumptions only is not very realistic," chief executive officer Rijkman Groenink said in a statement.

"We, therefore, refrain from giving an outlook for the year at this point in time."

Analysts regard the Dutch bank as relatively low risk as it focuses on retail banking and is moving away from trying to compete against investment banking giants like Goldman Sachs.

ABN Amro has 3,400 branches in about 60 countries.

The bank's shares have dropped 13% this year alone and have halved since its peak of 27 euros in 2000.