ING Group

ING Group N.V.

ING Group N.V. logo
Company type	Public (Euronext: INGA, NYSE: ING)
Industry	Financial services
Founded	1991
Headquarters	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Key people	Jan Hommen (CEO), Patrick Flynn (CFO), Peter Elverding (Chairman of the supervisory board)
Products	Banking, insurance, asset management
Revenue	€161billion (2008) $226,577 Billion
Operating income	18,324,000,000 Euro (2018)
Net income	(€729 million) (2008)
Total assets	€1,332 billion (2008)
Number of employees	124,660 (2008)
Website	www.ing.com

ING Group N.V. (NYSE: ING, Euronext: INGA) is a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management services. ING is an abbreviation of Internationale Nederlanden Groep (English: International Netherlands Group).

As of 2009, ING Group covers 85 million private, corporate and institutional clients in over 40 countries with a workforce of over 125,000 people. It owns ING Direct, a virtual bank with operations in Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain, UK, US and elsewhere. In the 2008 Forbes Global 2000, ING was the ninth-largest company in the world.

International operations

ING has offices in

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Chile
• China
• Colombia
• Czech Republic
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• India
• Indonesia
• Italy
• Japan
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• the Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Peru
• the Philippines
• Poland
• Romania
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Spain
• Taiwan
• Turkey
• Thailand
• The United Kingdom
• The United States
• Belarus
• Istanbul

Advertising and sponsorship

ING began sponsoring the Renault Formula One team in 2007, and also has a large amount of trackside advertising and race sponsorship deals.

ING's Canadian commercials feature Dutch actor Frederik de Groot. In Australia, they feature Scottish comedian Billy Connolly.

From 2007, ING became the title sponsor of the Renault Formula One team. This will continue until at least 2009. In November 2006, ING was announced as the naming rights sponsor of the Australian Grand Prix and Belgian Grand Prix in a three-year deal; The "ING Australian Grand Prix" was the first race in the 2007 season. ING has also become the title sponsor of the Hungarian Grand Prix, making it the "ING Magyar Nagydíj", the "2007 ING Belgian Grand Prix" and in 2009, the title sponsor of the Turkish Grand Prix as the company rebrands Oyak Bank.

Regarding their Formula One sponsorship, ING announced on February 16, 2009 that "In light of the recently announced cost reduction programme, ING confirmed that it would not renew the three year sponsorship (2007-2009) contract with Renault F1 and to end its presence in F1 beyond the 2009 season," a statement from ING read.

"ING's participation in Formula One was the company's first global sponsorship project aimed at delivering revenue and raising the global brand awareness, particularly in ING's key growth markets.

"Over the past two years, ING has successfully achieved its objectives for the F1 sponsorship, raising its overall global brand awareness by 16% (March 7 vs November 8).

"F1 remains a powerful business driver even in a difficult economic climate. Whilst ING has cut the F1 sponsorship costs by 40% in the final year, revenue generating opportunities will be a continuing focus through 2009.

"ING has enjoyed the relationship with Renault F1 and will continue to work closely with the team during the final year of the partnership."

For several years, ING has been the title sponsor of the New York City Marathon and the San Francisco famous Bay to Breakers. This sponsorship deal will continue until 2010.

ING is also a major sponsor of football, sponsoring the Dutch National Soccer Team and the AFC .

ING House, ING headquarters in Amsterdam

Part of ING at night in Minneapolis in the United States

Headquarters

ING House, ING's headquarters, is located near Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. Designed by Roberto Meyer and Jeroen van Schooten, the light-infused building features loggias, patios and interior gardens. The edifice is supported by posts of 9 to 12 meters (30 to 39ft). It is considered an autonomous building.

History

• 1990: The newly formed company, first called Internationale Nederlanden Groep, later ING Group, was created from the merger of Nationale-Nederlanden and NMB Postbank Group.
• 1991: Nationale-Nederlanden changes to ING Nationale-Nederlanden
• 1991: ING financial group entered the Czech market
• 1994: ING opened first ING Bank in Romania
• 1995: ING acquired investment bank and investment management firm Barings after its collapse (in the process, it also obtained the original sales document of the Louisiana Purchase)
• 1997: ING acquired insurer Equitable of Iowa Companies
• 1997: ING opened ING Direct Canada www.ingdirect.ca
• 1998: ING acquired Banque Bruxelles Lambert (BBL) of Belgium
• 1999: ING acquired BHF-Bank of Germany, opened ING Direct Spain
• 2000: ING acquired US insurers ReliaStar, Aetna Financial Services and Aetna International
• 2000: ING opened ING Direct USA
• 2001: ING acquired Bank Śląski of Poland, and insurer Seguros Comercial America of Mexico
• 2002: ING acquired DiBa bank of Germany
• 2004: ING Insurance Company of Canada acquired Allianz Canada
• 2004: ING sold BHF-Bank of Germany to Sal. Oppenheim
• 2005: ING acquired a 19.9% stake in Bank of Beijing; which was later diluted to 16.07% after the company listed in Shanghai
• 2006: ING opened ING Life Bulgaria, a branch of ING Life Hungary
• 2007: ING acquired the domestic asset management operations of ABN AMRO Asset Management in Taiwan
• 2007: ING acquired Oyak bank of Turkey
• 2007: ING launched its first variable annuities product for the European market in Spain
• 2007: ING acquired US web-based stock brokerage firm ShareBuilder
• 2007: ING acquired Landmark Asset Management Company of South Korea
• 2007: ING acquired a 30% stake in TMB Bank, Thailand
• 2008: ING sold ING Seguros in Mexico
• 2008: ING acquired CitiStreet in the USA
• 2008: ING launched retail banking in the Ukraine
• 2008: ING acquired the voluntary pension fund Oyak Emeklilik in Turkey
• 2008: ING sold its life insurance business in Taiwan
• 2008: ING Group, in a move to increase its Tier-One capital ratio, accepts a €10 billion capital injection from the Dutch government.
• 2009: In order to save €1.4 billion, ING announced that they would be cutting about 7,000 employees from their payroll. The CEO, Michel Tilmant, also resigned.
• 2009: ING Group sold all of its ownership stake in ING Canada (Property & Casualty Insurer operating in Canada).

Investigations into investment and business practices

Over the past several years, the ING Group has come under scrutiny over the ethics of some of their business practices in the U.S. In October 2005, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the leading private-sector provider of financial regulatory services in the United States, ordered ING Funds Distributor (IFD) to pay fines of $1.5 million for permitting improper market timing in ING funds and related violations, $1.4 million in restitution to affected mutual funds, and a $25,000 fine and 30-day supervisory suspension on an IFD supervisor.

Recent troubles

Capital Injection

On Sunday October 19, 2008, in a move to increase its core Tier 1 capital ratio to above 8%, ING Group accepted a capital injection plan by the Dutch Government. The plan will supply €10 billion (US$13.5 billion) into the operation, in exchange for securities, and veto rights on major operations and investments. Wouter Bos, the Dutch finance minister, said that this was done as a means of fortifying the bank as the bank is in a sound financial state, to weather the financial crisis. Management said that the capital injection shall have no dilutive impact to existing shareholders. As part of the 'loan' agreement, two government advisers have been appointed to the supervisory board.

Layoffs

In January 2009, ING announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs and its CEO stepped down.

ING Direct

ING Group global locations

ING Direct is ING Group's marketing name for a branchless direct bank with operations in Australia, Canada, France, Germany (branded ING-DiBa), Austria (branded ING-DiBa), Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. It offers services over the Internet, phone, ATM or by mail.

ING Direct Canada

ING Direct Canada was founded in 1997.

ING Direct Canada opened four cafés in major cities of Toronto, Montréal, Calgary and Vancouver.

It offers

• Non-RSP-eligible personal and business investment savings accounts
• RSP-eligible investment savings account
• Tax-free investment savings account (starting January 2009)
• US dollar personal and business investment savings accounts
• Mutual funds
• Guaranteed investment certificate
• RSP-eligible guaranteed investment certificate
• Mortgages
• Lines of credit
• Internet banking

ING Direct Canada is a member of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) and registered member with the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), a federal agency insuring deposits at all of Canada's chartered banks.

ING Direct United States

ING Direct was founded in 2000, with its headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware. ING Direct is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

In September 2007, ING Direct acquired 104,000 customers and FDIC insured assets from a failed virtual bank NetBank. Migration from NetBank to ING Direct was not smooth, prompting hundreds of fearful customers from former NetBank to complain, saturating ING Direct customer support phone lines. The bank lost many customers as a consequence.

ING Direct Cafes

The ING Direct Cafe in St. Cloud, MN, USA

In March 2001, ING Direct opened cafes in 6 cities: Chicago, IL, Philadelphia, PA, Los Angeles, CA, New York City, NY, St. Cloud, MN, and Wilmington, DE, each serving Peet's Coffee. New cafes were opened in Chicago, IL (Summer 2007), St. Cloud, MN (2008), and Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawai'i (November 2008). Inside the cafes, ING Direct has several internet terminals that allow their account-holders to check on the status on their ING Direct accounts and surf the internet free of charge. The cafes often feature seminars on financial topics such as money management, handling one's retirement, mortgages, and credit management.

Services

• Savings (Orange Savings Account)
• Checking (Electric Orange)
• Certificates of Deposit (Orange Certificate of Deposit)
• Mortgages (Orange Mortgage)
• Home Equity Line of Credit (Orange Home Equity Line of Credit)
• Mutual Funds (Orange Investment Account)
• Business Accounts (Business Savings Account/Business Savings CD/Builder Finance Loans)

ING Direct UK

ING Direct began operations in the UK in May 2003 and, at one point, had in excess of 1 million customers. Its failure to increase its interest rates following a series of base rate rises in 2007, however, led to a loss of customers. After raising its rates in 2008 the direct bank has rebuilt its customer base and once again sits above one million savers. Operations are based in Reading, where the company head office is situated as well as an office based in the city of Cardiff. The bank also picked up awards for its customer services and mortgage product in 2008.

On 8 October 2008 the UK Treasury used the Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008 to transfer the Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Kaupthing Edge deposit business to ING Direct.. Through this, ING Direct took over responsibility for £2.5 billion of deposits of 160,000 UK customers with the Icelandic bank Kaupthing Edge. This transfer created controversy as ING refused to accept the terms of Fixed Rate Deposits made by some 2300 UK customers in Kaupthing Edge..

Services

• Guaranteed investment account
• Home insurance
• Fixed-rate savings account (at certain times)
• Mini Cash ISA
• Mortgages
• Savings account

ING Direct Australia

Launching in Australia in 1999, ING Direct introduced online savings accounts in that country.

Whilst initially offering leading interest rates, ING Direct has since been overtaken by several other competitors with better rates.

The company's operations are regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Federal Government regulators. ING Direct is a division of ING Bank (Australia) Limited ABN 24 000 893 292 AFSL 229823.

In October 2008, ING Direct suffered a $749 million outflow of deposit funds.

In January 2009, ING Direct had to cut jobs due to issues with its mortgage debt.

Services

• Savings account (Savings Maximiser)
• Business savings account (Business Optimiser)
• Term deposits
• Home loans

See also

• European Financial Services Roundtable
• Inter-Alpha Group of Banks

External links

• ING.com ING Group mobile
• Pictures of the ING Group Headquarters, Amsterdam
• ING Direct U.S. rate history (2001-present)