“ING delivered another quarterly result that exemplifies our Think Forward strategy in action,” said Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group. “We again recorded solid commercial growth and introduced several new innovations. Year-to-date, we have established over 400,000 new primary customer relationships. To foster further growth and maintain our standing as a leading European bank, we strive to keep getting better every day, while managing the pressure on returns from the continuous regulatory burden and the low interest rate environment. In this context, I am convinced that our recently announced investment programme and intention to converge towards a single digital banking platform are necessary steps to enable ING to evolve with changing customer expectations and to increase operational efficiency.”
“ING Bank recorded EUR 3.6 billion of net core lending growth and attracted EUR 2.0 billion of net customer deposits in the third quarter. Lending growth was well diversified across Retail and Wholesale Banking. We also continued to facilitate our clients’ sustainable transitions through deals that support recycling, the circular economy and renewable energy. We are proud that our integrated sustainability approach earned ING the number-one ranking among global listed banks by Sustainalytics in August. We also achieved a signifi cant year-on-year improvement in our Dow Jones Sustainability Index ranking, and received the highest possible score in CDP’s annual review for our performance and disclosure related to our climate change strategy.”
“During the third quarter, we introduced another wave of innovative and insightful financial tools that empower customers. In Spain, the launch of Twyp Cash provides customers with greater convenience by enabling them to withdraw cash using their smartphones when making purchases at more than 3,500 supermarkets and petrol stations. In Wholesale Banking, we developed Virtual Cash Management, an advanced application that allows companies to manage their cash across banks and borders. It provides corporate treasurers with enhanced cash visibility, access and control, anytime and anywhere.”
“More recently, we created and launched the money management platform Yolt as a next step in digitalisation and in preparation for upcoming European regulation that will open the payment services market to new players in 2018. Yolt gives users insight into their account information from different banks in one easy overview, helping customers stay on top of their finances. The app is currently being tested only in the United Kingdom, but we will explore opportunities for expansion.”
We again recorded solid commercial growth and introduced several new innovations. To foster further growth and maintain our standing as a leading European bank, we strive to keep getting better every day, while managing the pressure on returns from the continuous regulatory burden and the low interest rate environment.
“ING’s third-quarter underlying result before tax was EUR 1,878 million, reflecting continued loan growth at healthy margins, effective cost control and a relatively low level of risk costs. Challengers & Growth Markets delivered another record quarterly result on the back of further organic growth. Retail Benelux showed resilience, as the performance of the Netherlands compensated for the decline in results at Retail Belgium, which were down 16.5% year-on-year. ING Group’s fully-loaded CET1 ratio rose to 13.5%. ING Bank’s underlying ROE was 11.3% for the first nine months of 2016.”
“As announced on 3 October, we intend to invest EUR 800 million over the next five years to create a scalable banking platform to cater for continued commercial growth, an improved customer experience and a quicker delivery of products. Regrettably, our intended transformation will impact many of our employees, particularly in Belgium and the Netherlands. We will do our utmost to build on our track record of helping colleagues who are or could be affected to fi nd new job opportunities. All of those affected will be treated with respect and care.”
“I fully appreciate the hard work of our employees that is reflected in our quarterly results. While change is not easy, it is essential to build on our position of strength. I have complete confidence in our ability to execute on our strategy and truly believe that the measures we intend to implement will ensure that we continue to empower customers to stay a step ahead.”
