Nationalised bank ABN Amro booked net profit of just €39m in the second quarter of 2014, blaming the cost of the switch to a new pension system for the earnings plunge.

An additional one-off levy of €67 in relation to the privatisation of SNS Reaal added to the costs.

Underlying net profit increased by €103m, or 47%, compared with Q2 2013, the bank said. Reported profit in the second quarter of last year was €402m.

‘Overall, we are satisfied with the results and remain cautiously optimistic about the recovery of the Dutch economy, although with geopolitical risks in the world mounting, the upward trend may be strained going forward,’ chief executive Gerrit Zalm said in a statement.

The government aims to float ABN Amro on the stock exchange next year and the bank is focusing on cost control to boost its attractiveness to the private sector.