ING records
continued commercial growth and further progress on Think Forward
strategic priorities |
· |
ING grew retail customer
base in 4Q17 by 500,000 to 37.4 million, and primary relationships
reached 10.8 million |
· |
Net core lending in 4Q17
increased by EUR 6.8 billion; net customer deposit inflow amounted
to EUR 2.7 billion |
ING 4Q17
underlying pre-tax result of EUR 1,560 million; FY2017 underlying
pre-tax result 2.4% up on 2016 |
· |
Solid result reflects
business growth at resilient margins, growth in commission income
and low risk costs |
· |
ING's full-year underlying
ROE at 10.2%; fully loaded CET1 ratio improved to 14.7%; FY2017
dividend of EUR 0.67 per share |
|
CEO
statement"Our commitment to our customers and progress in
accelerating our Think Forward strategy are evident in the good
results and continued customer growth we posted for both the fourth
quarter and full year 2017," said Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING. "Our
global customer base grew to 37.4 million over the year, including
a 900,000 increase in the number of primary customers to 10.8
million. Our most recent net promoter scores among customers rank
us first in 9 of our 13 retail markets, an achievement I am quite
proud of." "We continue to improve the experience of our customers
through both our own innovations as well as through strategic
partnerships. In the Netherlands, a new digital tool for small
business customers links receipts and bills directly to
transactions, giving customers one platform for their
administration and banking. And just this week, we agreed to
acquire a 75% stake in leading payments service provider Payvision,
a partnership we think will strongly benefit our customers."
"Innovation is changing banking at lightning speed. One such change
is blockchain, which has the potential to profoundly alter
financial services by making banking better, safer, simpler, faster
and cheaper for clients. Blockchain is a priority for us as we
build the bank of the future, and our team had a couple of major
achievements recently. These include creating blockchain code
that's nearly 10 times more efficient in ensuring privacy, and
using blockchain to create digital platforms for agricultural and
energy commodity trades, the latter through a venture with other
partners. These are milestones, and the collaboration required to
achieve them symbolises the very spirit of cooperation inherent to
blockchain's success." "We strive to make a positive impact on the
world through our financing and took important steps in the fourth
quarter to contribute to a low-carbon and self-reliant society,
which is the focus of our sustainability activities. For example,
we announced that we will accelerate the reduction of our exposure
to coal power generation to close to zero by 2025. This is part of
our eff ort to support the energy transition that's needed to
combat climate change." "Wholesale Banking is an important
contributor to the success of our Think Forward strategy. In
November we announced that the Wholesale Banking business will be
aligned even more around the needs and expectations of our clients,
including initiatives to move to a stronger sector organisation and
strengthen our international network. This will help us become a
more efficient, client-focused business that offers a consistent
experience across borders." "Overall, there was strong commercial
growth over 2017, with EUR 26.9 billion of net core lending growth
at resilient margins and a EUR 19.0 billion net increase in
customer deposits. ING's full-year underlying pre-tax result rose
2.4% to EUR 7,199 million, and the full-year underlying return on
equity was 10.2%. Operating expenses rose in the fourth quarter as
we stepped up our digital investments. We remain committed to the
targets we communicated when we announced the acceleration of the
Think Forward Strategy in October 2016. We are pleased to propose a
full-year 2017 cash dividend of EUR 0.67 per share, comprising the
August 2017 interim dividend of EUR 0.24 and a final dividend of
EUR 0.43 per share." "I'm proud of the steps we took in 2017 to
prepare ING for the future while executing on our Customer Promise.
The continued growth of new customers coming to ING shows that we
are living up to this promise and empowering customers to stay a
step ahead in life and in business." |
|
Further
information All publications related to ING's 4Q17 results can be
found at www.ing.com/4q17, including a video with Ralph Hamers. The
video is also available on YouTube. Additional financial
information is available at www.ing.com/qr: · ING Group historical
trend data (PDF, XLS) · ING Group analyst presentation (PDF, also
available via SlideShare) For further information on ING, please
visit www.ing.com. Frequent news updates can be found in the
Newsroom or via the @ING_news Twitter feed. Photos of ING
operations, buildings and its executives are available for download
at Flickr. Footage (B-roll) of ING is available via
ing.yourmediakit.com or can be requested by emailing
info@yourmediakit.com. ING presentations are available at
SlideShare. |
|
Investor
conference call, Media conference call and webcasts Ralph
Hamers, Koos Timmermans and Steven van Rijswijk will discuss the
results in an Investor conference call on 31 January 2018 at 9:00
a.m. CET. Members of the investment community can join the
conference call at +31 20 531 5821 (NL), +44 203 365 3209 (UK) or
+1 866 349 6092 (US) and via live audio webcast at www.ing.com.
Ralph Hamers, Koos Timmermans and Steven van Rijswijk will
also discuss the results in a media meeting on 31 January 2018 at
11:00 a.m. CET. Journalists are welcome at ING Amsterdamse Poort,
Bijlmerplein 888, Amsterdam. Alternatively, they can dial-in in
listen-only mode via +31 20 531 5871 (NL) or
+44 203 365 3210 (UK). The Media meeting can also be
followed via live audio webcast at www.ing.com. |
|
Investor
enquiries T: +31 20 576 6396 E: investor.relations@ing.com
Press enquiries T: +31 20 576 5000 E:
media.relations@ing.com |
|
ING Profile
ING is a global financial institution with a strong European base,
offering banking services through its operating company ING Bank.
The purpose of ING Bank is empowering people to stay a step ahead
in life and in business. ING Bank's more than 51,000 employees
offer retail and wholesale banking services to customers in over 40
countries. ING Group shares are listed on the exchanges of
Amsterdam (INGA NA, INGA.AS), Brussels and on the New York Stock
Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N). Sustainability forms an
integral part of ING's strategy, evidenced by ING's ranking as a
leader in the banks industry group by Sustainalytics. ING Group
shares are included in the FTSE4Good index and in the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index (Europe and World), where ING is also among
the leaders in the banks industry group. |
|
IMPORTANT
LEGAL INFORMATION Elements of this press release contain or may
contain information about ING Groep N.V. and/ or ING Bank N.V.
within the meaning of Article 7(1) to (4) of EU Regulation No 596/
2014. Projects may be subject to regulatory approvals.
ING Group's annual accounts are prepared in accordance with
International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the
European Union ('IFRS-EU'). In preparing the fi nancial information
in this document, except as described otherwise, the same
accounting principles are applied as in the 2016 ING Group
consolidated annual accounts. The Financial statements for 2017 are
in progress and may be subject to adjustments from subsequent
events. All fi gures in this document are unaudited. Small diff
erences are possible in the tables due to rounding. Certain
of the statements contained herein are not historical facts,
including, without limitation, certain statements made of future
expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on
management's current views and assumptions and involve known and
unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results,
performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or
implied in such statements. Actual results, performance or events
may differ materially from those in such statements due to a number
of factors, including, without limitation: (1) changes in general
economic conditions, in particular economic conditions in ING's
core markets, (2) changes in performance of financial markets,
including developing markets, (3) potential consequences of
European Union countries leaving the European Union or a break-up
of the euro, (4) changes in the availability of, and costs
associated with, sources of liquidity such as interbank funding, as
well as conditions in the credit and capital markets generally,
including changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness,
(5) changes affecting interest rate levels, (6) changes affecting
currency exchange rates, (7) changes in investor and customer
behaviour, (8) changes in general competitive factors, (9) changes
in laws and regulations and the interpretation and application
thereof, (10) geopolitical risks and policies and actions of
governmental and regulatory authorities, (11) changes in standards
and interpretations under International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) and the application thereof, (12) conclusions with
regard to purchase accounting assumptions and methodologies, and
other changes in accounting assumptions and methodologies including
changes in valuation of issued securities and credit market
exposure, (13) changes in ownership that could affect the future
availability to us of net operating loss, net capital and built-in
loss carry forwards, (14) changes in credit ratings, (15) the
outcome of current and future legal and regulatory proceedings,
(16) ING's ability to achieve its strategy, including projected
operational synergies and cost-saving programmes and (17) the other
risks and uncertainties detailed in the most recent annual report
of ING Groep N.V. (including the Risk Factors contained therein)
and ING's more recent disclosures, including press releases, which
are available on www.ING.com. Many of those factors are beyond
ING's control. Any forward looking statements made by or on
behalf of ING speak only as of the date they are made, and ING
assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information
or for any other reason. This document does not constitute
an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any
securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction. |
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