State-owned bank ABN Amro posted a loss of almost €1bn in the second quarter of this year, due partly to the cost of the merger with Fortis.

Both banks were taken over by the state in 2008.
The sale of parts of its operations on EU orders also hit earnings, the bank said in a statement.
Excluding one-offs, ABN Amro booked net profit of €325m, up 57% on a year ago.
‘This underlying performance was driven by an increase in revenues, predominantly as a result of growth of the loan portfolio and improved margins on savings products, as market conditions improved,’ CEO Gerrit Zalm said in the statement.
‘However, we remain cautious and expect the level of loan impairments in the remainder of the year to be somewhat higher than the low levels seen in the first six months,’ he said.