The Dutch major bank ING NL0011821202 also felt rising costs at the beginning of the year.

Because net interest income also declined and the bank increased its reserves for non-performing loans, profits in the first quarter fell by almost eight percent year-on-year to €1.46 billion, as the EuroStoxx 50-listed bank EU0009658145 announced in Amsterdam on Friday. The increased net commission income could not offset the declines in other areas. However, analysts had expected a somewhat sharper decline in profits.

Bank CEO Steven van Rijswijk spoke of political and economic risks, but is confident of strong future business in the European domestic market given government spending programs for infrastructure and defense. He confirmed the forecast for this year as well as the targets for 2027. A further two billion euro share buyback program is expected to reassure investors.

The private customer business of the German ING subsidiary also earned slightly less before taxes than a year earlier due to increased personnel costs as a result of salary increases, but performed better than in the previous quarter.