The increase was due largely to a 10 per cent decline in expenses and slightly higher operating income, at €317 million. The unit’s client assets totalled €198.9 million at 30 September 2016, up 3 per cent from the end of June, largely thanks to favourable market performance.

For the first nine months of 2016, however, private banking underlying profit fell 20 per cent year-on-year to €150 million, due to lower operating income and higher loan impairments.

The bank as a whole generated a quarterly profit of €607 million, up 19 per cent from a year earlier. Its common equity tier one ratio, a measure of financial strength, increased to 16.6 per cent.

ABN AMRO announced a new cost savings plan of €400 million, affecting another 1,500 full-time jobs. It did not specify which divisions are at risk. The plan comes on top of the €200 million of savings in support and control activities announced earlier this year. The bank is targeting total cost savings of €900 million by 2020 to offset rising costs and levies of €500 million, and to finance a €400 million increase in spending on initiatives for growth, innovation and digitalisation. It has also sharpened its cost/income target range from 56-60 per cent by 2017 to 56-58 per cent by 2020.

The Amsterdam-headquartered bank, which is still majority owned by the Dutch government, last week appointed its chief financial officer, Kees van Dijkhuizen, to replace Gerrit Zalm as chief executive. 

Separately, a number of banks are said to be considering a bid for the Asian private banking arm of the firm; ABN AMRO has declined to comment on the matter. For more on this issue, click here.