Dutch banking giant ABN AMRO said its first-half 1998 profit surged by 20 per cent. It also raised its target for net profit growth to 12.5 per cent per year.

The bank posted a first-half net profit of 2.445 billion guilders (£860 million), and said it expected a further increase during the second-half of the year.

But ABN AMRO, which has a banking and stockbroking operation in Ireland, sounded a warning note on economic woes in Asia and Russia, raising provisions by 400 million guilders to 892 million in the first six months of 1998. Analysts said the caution may be overdone.