ING Group

ING Groep N.V.
Type Naamloze vennootschap
Traded as EuronextINGA, NYSEING
Industry Financial services
Founded 1991 through merger[1]
(est. 1743 as Kooger Doodenbos)
Headquarters Amsterdam, Netherlands
Area served Worldwide
Key people Jan Hommen (CEO), Patrick Flynn (CFO), Peter Elverding (Chairman of the supervisory board)
Products Retail, direct, private, investment and commercial banking, insurance and asset management
Revenue 54.43 billion (2010)[2]
Profit €3.220 billion (2010)[2]
Total assets €1.247 trillion (end 2010)[2]
Total equity €47.28 billion (end 2010)[2]
Employees 107,110 (FTE, end 2010)[2]
Website ing.com

The ING Group (EuronextINGA, NYSEING) is a global financial institution offering retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, asset management, and insurance services. ING is the Dutch member of the Inter-Alpha Group of Banks, a cooperative consortium of 11 prominent European banks.[3] ING is an abbreviation for Internationale Nederlanden Groep (English: International Netherlands Group).

The Orange Lion on ING's logo is a play on the Group's Dutch origins under the House of Orange-Nassau.[4] Like other prominent Anglo-Dutch banking conglomerates (e.g. RBS, ABN AMRO, Barclays, HSBC), ING's earliest roots lie in banking houses that provided financial services to the British/Dutch East India Companies that conducted intercontinental trade across India, SE Asia and China during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.[5]

Today, ING is the largest banking/financial services & insurance conglomerate in the world by revenue with current gross receipts exceeding €54 billion ($77 billion) per annum.[6] The Group is also the world's 12th largest corporation by revenue according to the Global Fortune 500.[7] As of 2009, ING serves over 85 million individual and institutional clients in more than 45 countries, with a worldwide workforce exceeding 100,000.

Contents

History

ING Group traces its roots to two major Insurance companies in the Netherlands and the banking services of the Dutch government.

In 1845 the Fire insurance company the De Nederlanden van 1845 was founded and grew to be the first insurance company with branches outside the Netherlands. By 1900 it had over 139 agencies all over the world. Two decades later in 1863 the live insurance company Nationale Levensverzekering was founded in Rotterdam. These two insurance companies would merge in 1963 to form the combined insurance company the Nationale-Nederlanden. The combined insurance company would expand significantly during the 1970s and 1980s.[8]

In 1881 the Dutch government created the Rijkspostspaarbank a postal savings bank to encourage workers to start saving. In 1918 the Dutch government created the Postcheque and Girodienst services allowing working families to make payments via Dutch post offices. Separately in 1927 the Dutch government initiated a reorganisation of Dutch banks and the Nederlandsche Middenstands Bank (NMB) was formed. The NMB focused on retail banking in the Netherlands and abroad.

In 1986 the post office banking services were privatised as Postbank N.V. and three years later it would merge with NMB bank to form NMB Postbank.

In 1991 the banking business of NMB Postbank and the insurance business of Nationale-Nederlanden were merged to create ING Group. ING Group expanded its international business through a number of acquisitions through the 1990s. This included the Belgium bank BBL in 1998. In 1995 ING Groups investment banking business was significantly boosted when it took over Barings Bank after its dramatic failure.

Rather than create a branch network overseas, it used the direct banking business it had develop with NMB Postbank to launch overseas direct banking businesses called ING Direct. The first of these was set up in Canada in 1997. The no frills high rate savings accounts that could only be accessed on-line were successful and spawned a number of similar services from rival banks.

In 2008 as part of the Dutch governments response to the Late-2000s financial crisis ING group, together with all other banks took a capital injection from the Dutch Government to increase its capital ratio above 8%. It paid this back in Dec 2009.

Global operations

ING has offices in:

  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Brazil
  • Bulgaria
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Czech Republic
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hong Kong
  • Hungary Budapest
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Luxembourg
  • Malaysia
  • Mexico
  • Mongolia
  • Netherlands
  • Luxembourg
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • South Korea
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • Taiwan
  • Turkey
  • Thailand
  • Ukraine
  • Uruguay
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

Global headquarters

The Group's corporate headquarters, ING House, is located in the business district of Zuidas in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was designed by Roberto Meyer and Jeroen van Schooten and was officially inaugurated on September 16, 2002 by Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. The light-infused building features a 250-seat auditorium, foyer, restaurant, and library. The building also houses an extensive art collection.

Recent notable transactions

Latin American divestment

In July 2011, ING divested all its Latin American insurance operations to the Colombian insurance group GrupoSura for $3.85 billion, excluding ING's 36 percent holding in Brazilian insurer Sul America which will be sold at a later date.

The actions are in line with EU demands to split the Group's banking and insurance operations as a condition of Dutch state aid (see below).[9]

Capital injection and repayment

In October 2008, in a move to increase its core Tier 1 capital ratio above 8%, ING Group accepted a capital injection plan from the Dutch Government. The plan will supply €10 billion ($13.5 billion) to the operation, in exchange for securities and veto rights on major operational changes and investments. Wouter Bos, the Dutch Finance Minister at the time, said this was done as a means of fortifying the bank to weather the financial crisis. Management stated that the capital injection shall have no dilutive impact to existing shareholders. As part of the agreement, two government advisers have been appointed to the Supervisory Board of the Group.

In Dec 2009, ING announced that it has completed its planned repurchase of EUR 5 billion of the Core Tier 1 securities issued in November 2008 to the Dutch State and its EUR 7.5 billion rights issue.

Divisions

Retail banking

ING offers retail banking services in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Turkey, India, Thailand and China. Non-retail private banking services are offered in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and various countries in Asia and Central Europe.

In the Netherlands, ING is the largest retail bank by market share, holding 40% of current account deposits.[10] ING is followed by Rabobank (30%), ABN AMRO (20%), and others (10%).

Outside of the Benelux, ING's current focus is on Central & Eastern Europe, as well as certain high-growth regions in Asia. In India, ING has a 44% stake in ING Vysya Bank and is the Indian bank's largest shareholder. In China, ING has a 17% stake in the Bank of Beijing, the largest urban commercial bank in China. In Thailand, ING has a 30% stake in TMB Bank, a universal banking platform with a nationwide network.

ING Direct

ING Direct is the Group's brand for a branchless direct bank with operations in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. It offers services over the web, phone, ATM or by mail. The service currently focuses on simple interest-bearing savings accounts for retail customers. ING Direct Italy is currently opening its own "bank shops" in the major towns, where customers can operate services on usual web channels, assisted or not by branch operators, and use advanced teller machines for cash and check transactions.

ING Direct Canada

ING's history in Canada goes back to 1997 when it founded ING Direct Canada. As recently as July 2011, ING Direct Canada had over 1.7 million clients, employed over 900 people and had over $37.6 billion in assets. ING Direct Canada has five 'Save Your Money Cafés' in the major cities of Toronto, Montréal, Calgary and Vancouver.[11]

Its products include savings accounts, tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs), mortgages, retirement savings plans (RSPs), guaranteed investments (GICs), mutual funds, business accounts and a no-fee daily checking accounts.

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 of all Canada's chartered banks. ING Direct Canada operates as Banking Institution #614, Transit #00152.[12]

As of February 2009, ING Canada (the insurance arm) is no longer a subsidiary of ING Group. ING Group's 70% equity interest was spun off for $2.2 billion. The company (which has an 11% share of Canada's property and casualty insurance market) was then renamed Intact Financial Corporation in May 2009. ING Group still operates ING Bank of Canada, also known as ING Direct Canada.[13]

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.[14] Two months later, ING Direct acquired online stock broker Sharebuilder.[15]

In June 2011, ING announced an agreement to sell ING Direct USA for a total consideration of $9 billion (EUR 6.3 billion) to Capital One Financial Corporation, a leading US-based financial holding company. Under the terms of the agreement, ING will receive $6.2 billion in cash and $2.8 billion in the form of 55.9 million shares in Capital One. With its pro forma 9.9% stake, ING will become the largest single shareholder in Capital One. The sale of ING Direct USA to Capital One is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011 and is subject to regulatory consent. After closing, ING has the right to be represented by one member of the Board of Directors of Capital One.[16]

ING Direct UK

ING Direct began operations in the UK in May 2003 and has over one million customers. 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 markets itself as offering good customer service and high interest rates, which are usually higher than its high street competitors, but not always top of comparison tables.[17] The bank has picked up awards for its customer services and mortgage product in 2008 and 2009.[18]

On October 8, 2008, ING purchased the savings accounts of the collapsed Icelandic bank, Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander, the UK Treasury used the Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008 to transfer the Kaupthing Edge deposit business to ING Direct.[19] Through this, ING Direct took over responsibility for £2.5 billion of deposits of 160,000 UK customers with the Icelandic bank Kaupthing Edge. Some customers were dissatisfied[20] after ING lowered the exceptional high rate the collapsed Kaupthing was previously paying.

ING Directs products in the UK include Savings Accounts, Cash ISAs, Mortgages and Home insurance.

ING Direct Australia

ING Direct Australia was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Sydney, offering banking online and via telephone. Its products in Australia include Transaction accounts, Savings accounts, Business accounts, Term deposits and Home loans.

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).

In October 2008, ING Direct suffered a $749 million outflow of deposit funds. There had been some confusion as to whether or not the Australian Government's guarantee over funds on deposit applied to deposits up to $1 million with ING DIRECT Australia. Once it was confirmed that the Guarantee did apply to ING DIRECT Australia, outflows that had been solely attributed to this situation slowed and deposits returned.

In December 2011, it was reported that ING Australia had been defrauded of $45 Million by an employee.[21]

Commercial banking

ING Commercial Banking provides banking and financial services to corporations and other institutions. The primary geographic focus of the commercial banking business is the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Romania, where it offers a full range of products, from cash management to corporate finance. Elsewhere, it takes a more selective approach to clients and products.

ING Commercial Banking was strengthened in 1995, when ING took over Barings Bank. This acquisition increased the brand recognition of ING around the world and strengthened its Commercial Banking presence in the emerging markets. Following the acquisition and up until 2004, ING's investment banking division was called ING Barings, at which point it severed its ties with the Barings name and combined with ING's other commercial banking operations. However, the top floor of ING's London office is still home to the Baring Art Collection,[22] and the Baring Foundation,[23] a charitable foundation.

Commercial Banking is divided into a number of sub-divisions, including Structured Finance, Financial Markets, and Corporate Finance.

Corporate finance

ING's Corporate Finance department advises businesses on important corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, secondary offerings, share buy-backs and management buy-outs. The division is headed jointly by Maurits Duynstee (Head of Corporate Finance, Continental Western Europe) and Pierre Chabrelie (Head of Corporate Finance, UK and CEE). The bank has advised on a number of recent high-profile European transactions including satellite navigation manufacturer TomTom in a €359m rights issue, energy supplier Nuon in its €8.5bn sale to Vattenfall, and printer-maker Océ in its €1.3bn merger with Canon. ING was the leading advisor in the Dutch M&A league tables in 2009.[24]

ING Corporate finance has a strong presence in Russia and Central and Eastern Europe. In 2009 ING advised Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (MTS), Russia's largest mobile operator, in its acquisition of a 51% stake in Comstar UTS for USD 1.27bn,[25] and Russia-focussed oil producer, Exillon Energy on its USD 100m IPO.[26]

Insurance

ING's insurance business operates throughout America, Asia and Europe.

In 2009, ING announced plans to separate its insurance business from its main banking operations through two IPO's. Analysts estimate that the insurance arm is worth up to €16 billion.[27]

ING Investment Management

ING Investment Management is the principal asset manager of the Group and a leading global asset manager. Against the background of the Group realizing its global ambitions, ING Investment Management has also expanded across borders. Today, it is active in 33 countries, including some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, such as China, India, Brazil and many Eastern European nations. ING Investment Management operates along regional lines with centers of expertise in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific.

ING Investment Management provides a comprehensive range of investment solutions and services to clients and partners. It manages assets for institutional clients, fund distributors and ING labels, with approximately €326 billion in AUM. Over 3,200 professionals manage client funds globally.[28]

Sponsorships

ING sponsors a variety of sporting events and artistic exhibitions throughout the world.

Sporting

For several years, ING has been the title sponsor of various marathons including the New York City Marathon, the Miami Marathon, the Georgia Marathon, the Hartford Marathon, the Philadelphia Distance Run and San Francisco's Bay to Breakers.

ING is a major global sponsor of football/soccer, sponsoring the Royal Dutch Football Association and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[29]

ING was the title sponsor of the Renault Formula One team from the 2007 season to the 2009 season. It was also the title sponsor of the Australian Grand Prix and Belgian Grand Prix, the Hungarian Grand Prix, and the Turkish Grand Prix. ING ended its sponsorship of Renault in part due to a reduction in advertising spending, and in part due to controversy surrounding the Renault Formula One team.[30]

The arts

ING's sponsorships in the arts include the Dutch National Museum in Amsterdam (the Rijksmuseum), the New York Museum of Modern Art, and also the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. ING also owns and houses a number of proprietary art collections located in Belgium, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom.[31]

See also

Netherlands portal
Companies portal


References

  1. ^ http://www.inglife.co.in/careers/history/ING-history.shtml
  2. ^ a b c d e "Annual Results 2010". ING. http://www.ing.com/cms/idc_cgi_isapi.dll?IdcService=GET_FILE&dDocName=487424_EN&RevisionSelectionMethod=latestReleased. Retrieved 16 February 2011. 
  3. ^ http://www.inter-alpha.com/ing/default.htm
  4. ^ http://www.ing.com/Our-Company/About-us/History-of-ING/History-of-ING-lion.htm
  5. ^ http://www.oaklandasp.comcastbiz.net/Chapter%209.html
  6. ^ "Global 500". Fortune (magazine). July 26, 2010. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2010/full_list/. Retrieved 3 December 2010. 
  7. ^ "Global 500 2010: Global 500 1-100". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2010/full_list/. 
  8. ^ "The history of ING". ING Group. 29 March 2011. http://www.ing.com/Our-Company/About-us/History-of-ING.htm. 
  9. ^ ING sells Latin American insurance operations
  10. ^ OECD.org
  11. ^ INGdirect.ca
  12. ^ INGdirect.ca
  13. ^ "ING Canada to rebrand its ING Insurance subsidiary". 2009-02-23. http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2009/23/c2918.html. 
  14. ^ INdirect.com
  15. ^ "ING DIRECT Acquires ShareBuilder" (Press release). ING DIRECT USA. 2007-11-19. http://home.ingdirect.com/about/about.asp?s=News_Room&news=News_Releases&years_list=PressReleases2007.xml&id=5. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
  16. ^ "ING to sell ING Direct USA to Capital One". Press Releases. ING Groep N.V.. 2011-06-16. http://www.ing.com/Our-Company/About-us/Article/ING-to-sell-ING-Direct-USA-to-Capital-One.htm. Retrieved 2011-06-18. 
  17. ^ "Savers pull £5.4bn from ING Direct". http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/saving-and-banking/article.html?in_article_id=423187&in_page_id=7&expand=true. 
  18. ^ Top50callcentres.co.uk
  19. ^ HM-treasury.gov.uk
  20. ^ INGsavers.co.uk
  21. ^ Paul Bibby Courts, smh.com.au (2011). "Woman's quest for self-esteem and revenge cost boss $45m". http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/womans-quest-for-selfesteem-and-revenge-cost-boss-45m-20111215-1owya.html. Retrieved 2011-12-16. 
  22. ^ BaringArchive.org.uk
  23. ^ BaringFoundation.org.uk
  24. ^ (Dutch) Overfusies.nl
  25. ^ Bloomberg news, MTS acquisition
  26. ^ Dealbook, Exillon IPO
  27. ^ Cachef.ft.com
  28. ^ ING IM Keyfacts
  29. ^ INGafc.com
  30. ^ ING press release, end of F1 sponsorship
  31. ^ INGartcollection.com

External links

ING websites

Other websites