Fortis said its private banking unit recorded net profit of €71m in the first half of 2008, 48% lower than a year ago as the cost of integrating ABN Amro’s private client business continues to be high for the Dutch-Belgian financial group.
The bank managed to grow net new money by €1.8bn in the first half of the year, down from €2.8bn in the same period of 2007 and €7bn in 2006.