ING Group

history

, ) |company_slogan = |foundation = 1991 |location = Amsterdam, Netherlands |area_served = Worldwide |key_people = Jan Hommen (CEO), Patrick Flynn (CFO), Peter Elverding (Chairman of the supervisory board) |industry = Financial services |products = Banking, insurance, asset management |revenue = €48.19 billion (2009) |net_income = (€935 million) (2009) |assets = €1,164 billion (2009) |equity = €39,778 million (2009) |num_employees = 107,173 (FTE, 2009) |homepage = »www.ing.com |intl = yes }}

ING Group (, ) is a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management services. ING is an abbreviation of '''''' ().

As of 2009, ING Group covers 85 million private, corporate and institutional clients in over 40 countries with a workforce of over 100,000 people. It owns ING Direct, a virtual bank with operations in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, UK, US and elsewhere.

International operations

ING has offices in:

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

Headquarters

, ING headquarters in Amsterdam]] ING's 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 opened on 16 September 2002 by Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. The light-infused building features a 250 seat auditorium, a foyer, restaurant, library, and is also home to an art collection.

History

  • 1991: 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 ÅšlÄ…ski of Poland, and insurer Seguros Comercial America of Mexico
  • 2002: ING acquired DiBa bank of Germany
  • 2003: ING opened ING Direct UK
  • 2004: ING Insurance Company of Canada acquired Allianz Canada
  • 2004: ING sold BHF-Bank of Germany to Sal. Oppenheim
  • 2005: ING ordered to pay $1.5 million by the NASD for permitting improper market timing in ING funds»http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3725360,00.html.
  • 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 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: ING closed retail banking in Ukraine
  • 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»http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/26/ing.job.losses.banking/index.html?iref=mpstoryview.
  • 2009: ING Group sold all of its ownership stake in ING Canada (Property & Casualty Insurer operating in Canada).»http://www.ing.com/group/showdoc.jsp?docid=364060_EN»http://www.ing.com/group/showdoc.jsp?docid=364149_EN
  • 2009: ING Group’s Restructuring Plan announced, stating that ING needs to divest ING Direct USA by the end of 2013.»http://www.ing.com/group/pressdoc.jsp?docid=417610_EN
  • 2009: ING announces that it will move towards a separation of its banking and insurance operations.
  • 2009: ING secures €7.5bn rights issue and repays €5bn to the Dutch State.

Transactions with the Dutch State

in the United States]]

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.

Repayment of Dutch state

On 21 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. Private Banking is offered in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and various countries in Asia and Central Europe. Mid Corporate Clients in the home markets (the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Romania) are also part of Retail Banking.

ING Direct

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

ING Direct Canada

ING Direct Canada was founded in 1997. As of 2009 ING DIRECT Canada has over 1.6 million Clients, employs over 900 people and has over $27 billion in assets. ING Direct Canada has four Save Your Money Café' cafés in major cities of Toronto, Montréal, Calgary and Vancouver»http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/aboutus/contactus/index.html.

Its products include Savings accounts, Mortgages, Retirement Savings Plans (RSPs), Guaranteed Investments (GICs), Mutual Funds, and Business 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 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.»http://home.ingdirect.com/about/about.asp?s=News#09292007

ING Direct Cafes
, USA]] In March 2001, ING Direct opened cafés 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 cafés, 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 cafés often feature seminars on financial topics such as money management, handling one's retirement, mortgages, and credit management.

Services
ING Direct (USA) offers a range of products including Checking accounts, Savings accounts, Business accounts, Mutual funds, and Mortgages.

ING Direct UK

ING Direct began operations in the UK in May 2003 and has over 1 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. The bank has picked up awards for its customer services and mortgage product in 2008 and 2009.»http://http://www.top50callcentres.co.uk/

On 8 October 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.»http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_102_08.htm 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»http://www.ingsavers.co.uk/ 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 in 1999 and is headquartered in Sydney, offering banking online and via telephone.

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.

Its products in Australia include Savings accounts, Business accounts, Term deposits and Home loans.

Commercial Banking

ING Commercial Banking conducts operations for corporations and other institutions. The primary focus of ING’s Commercial banking business is on 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's Commercial Banking business was strengthened in 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 was 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[http://www.baringarchive.org.uk/], and the Baring Foundation[http://www.baringfoundation.org.uk/], 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 by former BP executive, David Herbert, and has made recent key hires from other banks including Maurits Duynstee, previously a Managing Director with ABN AMRO, and now head of ING Corporate Finance in the Netherlands. 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.

Insurance

Insurance Europe

Is a market leader in life insurance and retirement services in the Netherlands and Belgium, and operates life insurance, retirement services and asset management in Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, but also in Spain, Greece and Turkey. In almost all countries in Europe ING has built its life insurance operations from scratch. This entry strategy has been successful.

Insurance Americas

Provides insurance, investment, retirement and asset management products and services in the region. ING is ranked third in the defined contribution segment of the US retirement services market as measured by assets. They are also a leading pension company in a number of Latin American countries, including Mexico, Chile and Peru.

Insurance Asia/Pacific

Conducts life insurance and asset/wealth management activities in the region. ING is the region’s second-largest international life insurer in nine countries. ING has strong positions in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and South Korea, and has a growing presence in the high-growth markets of China, India and Thailand.

Advertising and sponsorship

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." ING withdrew from the deal early in the wake of the crashgate affair.»ING ends Renault deal immediately

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 »http://www.ingafc.com.

Its use orange in its corporate logo (as well as including Orange in the name of its products) refers to the color's association with the Dutch state. See Principality of Orange.

See also

References

External links

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