* Net interest income disappoints
* Impairments lower than expected
* Shares fall almost 4% (Adds CFO quotes, details on interest income outlook, share price move and analyst quote)
AMSTERDAM, Feb 10 (Reuters) - ABN Amro is hopeful it will see a recovery in the second half of the year, provided the rollout of vaccination boosts the economy and offsets the impact of low interest rates on profit margins, it said on Wednesday.
ABN reported a net profit of 54 million euros ($65.49 million) for the fourth quarter of 2020, 83% lower than a year earlier, but higher than the average analysts’ estimate of 35 million euros.
Its net profit was helped by impairments on bad loans. At 220 million euros, they were almost a third lower than a year earlier, as the COVID-19 crisis had less impact than feared.