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. |