Banks in the Netherlands get off to a good start in 2018 and increase focus on sustainable investments

Van Lanschot Kempen reported a net inflow of €400m in assets under management (AUM) for the first quarter of 2018, with private banking, Evi (the bank's online investment coach) and asset management all contributing. Negative price movements in financial markets led to a net reduction in client assets of €1bn, to €82.7bn. The bank expanded its product range, including the launch of the Global Impact Pool in January, enabling clients to invest in funds which make a positive contribution the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Kempen launched two structured products between January 1 and March 31, 2018, according to SRP data. Both structures were five-year autocallables linked to the Eurostoxx 50, issued on the paper of Van Lanschot Bankiers and BNP Paribas, respectively. Five products matured during the quarter. There are more than 500 Van Lanschot Kempen products listed on the SRP database, of which 62 are live products. The majority are targeted at investors in the Netherlands, but there are also products available to investors in Ireland (16, distributed via Wealth Options), Belgium (two, distributed via Crelan) and Sweden (one, distributed via Mangold).

ABN Amro announced a net profit of €595m in the first quarter of this year, with long-term funding raised in the first quarter amounting to €3.6bn, consisting of €2.1bn in covered bonds and €1.5bn in unsecured US dollar-denominated medium-term notes (MTNs). This funding was issued mainly to replace maturing funding, according to the bank. Total issued debt stood at €75.8bn as of March 31, 2018, including €28.9bn senior unsecured MTNs, of which €4bn is scheduled to mature in 2018. 'We continue to broaden our strategic commitment to sustainability,' said Kees van Dijkhuizen (pictured), chief executive officer at ABN, in a statement. '[We aim] to make sustainable investments the norm for our private banking clients by doubling the volume of sustainable client assets to €16bn by 2020... we recently issued our own third green bond with a notional amount of €750m.'

There are 3,904 ABN products listed across 19 SRP databases, of which only 13 are still live. Two structures matured during the first quarter, both in Germany, linked to interest and inflation, respectively.

ING reported solid profitability in the first quarter of 2018, with the bank declaring its aim to double funding to climate finance, industry ESG leaders and social-impact finance portfolios by 2022. In the first three months of this year, the bank led eight green bond issues, including a €1bn green covered bond issued by SpareBank 1, a first for the Nordic region; a €4.5bn green bond for the Kingdom of Belgium; and a euro-denominated green bond for Prologis.

ING's outstanding long-term debt securities decreased by €4bn in the first quarter, reflecting €6bn of maturities and redemptions and a loss of €1bn effect from currency movements, offset by €3bn of issuance. ING had €80bn of outstanding debt as of March 31, 2018: €51bn in euros and €21bn in US dollars. In the remainder of 2018, €10bn of long-term debt will mature, according to the bank.

ING issued seven structured products in the quarter, split between Poland (four) and Belgium (three). In Belgium, the bank distributed 5.5-year ESG invest notes, which were linked to the Sustainable Europe LR Equity Index and sold €16.5m in subscription. Twenty-six products matured during the quarter, including the tailormade series 6246, a 95% protected note linked to a weighted basket comprising the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, and Eurostoxx 50, Nikkei 225 and S&P 500 indices, which returned 110.2% after four years (2.4% pa).

Click the link to view the full first quarter 2018 results for ABN Amro, ING and Van Lanschot Kempen.

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