Dutch lender Rabobank booked 41 per cent higher net profit in the first half of 2015, lifted by a rebounding Dutch economy and a steep fall in provisions for bad loans, it said on Thursday.

Net profit in the six-month period was €1.52 billion, helped by strong retail banking profit in the Netherlands, where an economic recovery is taking hold after two years of recession.

Provisions for bad loans at the largest Dutch mortgage lender fell 70 per cent to €356 million, below the long-term average for the bank.

Rabobank’s tier 1 solvency ratio was steady at 13.2 per cent, while its capital ratio improved to 21.5 per cent from 20.8 percent in January.

Rabobank, one of highest rated banks in the world, said it “will give higher priority to improving profitability and strict control of the volume of our risk-weighted assets”.

The unlisted bank did not provide forecasts.