CEO statement
“The second quarter of 2023 was characterised by ongoing challenges, as economic sentiment weakened, geopolitical uncertainties persisted and inflation remained elevated - albeit less pronounced than in previous quarters,” said Steven van Rijswijk, CEO of ING. “In these circumstances, we continued to deliver strong results. The current interest rate environment drove income growth in both Retail and Wholesale Banking, with continued deposit inflows across our retail markets. Despite cooling economies, we had another quarter with lending growth and higher fee income.
“I’m pleased with the significant customer growth that we recorded this quarter, which is an important driver for future value creation. Our primary customer base grew by 227,000 to 14.9 million. The number of mobile payment transactions increased by 18% in the quarter and was 37% higher than in the second quarter of 2022. The share of mobile-only customers is now 60%. They only do business with us through their mobile, our main channel.
“In Retail Banking, we realised good results across our markets. Deposit growth continued, with a significant inflow of €17 billion in Germany, while in the Netherlands and Spain, growth was driven by seasonal inflows as well as by the introduction of a savings product for our Business Banking clients in the Netherlands. Our mortgage portfolio grew as well, driven by increases in Australia, the Netherlands and Germany.
“Wholesale Banking recorded another strong quarter with disciplined capital management and higher income over risk- weighted assets. Daily Banking and Trade Finance benefited from the current interest rate environment. Fee income rose, both in Global Capital Markets and in Lending. We continued to support the activities and initiatives of our clients, although growth in Lending was offset by lower volumes in Trade and Commodity Finance and in Working Capital Solutions, reflecting lower commodity prices and lower economic activity.
“Expenses came down slightly compared to the previous quarter, despite inflationary effects on staff costs and continued investments in the future growth of our business. Risk costs were limited in the second quarter, underlining the quality of our loan book. Despite low risk costs and no identifiable trends in provisioning we remain vigilant, as the cost of living and of doing business rises for our customers. Strong capital generation resulted in an increased CET1 ratio of 14.9%, despite our share buyback programme.
“We aim to put sustainability at the heart of what we do. As a global bank we're financing today's society, which is not yet green enough. However, we're determined to use our strength and capabilities to help our clients transition to a low-carbon economy, by providing them with the necessary products and advice. A good example during this quarter is the introduction of an ‘eco-renovation loan’ for our Business Banking clients in Belgium, which enables them to make their real estate more sustainable. We continued to support our Wholesale Banking clients in their transitions, achieving a volume mobilised of €25 billion in the second quarter.
“In a challenging macro environment, our business model allowed us to achieve strong results as we continued to execute our strategy, enabled by our digital foundations. I’m confident in our efforts and ability to continue to make the difference for people and the planet and deliver value to all our stakeholders. I want to thank all our colleagues for their dedication, our customers for their loyalty, and our shareholders and other stakeholders for their trust in us.”
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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 59,000 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 is an integral part of ING’s strategy, evidenced by ING’s leading position in sector benchmarks. ING's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating by MSCI was affirmed 'AA' in September 2022. As of August 2022, Sustainalytics considers ING’s management of ESG material risk to be ‘strong’, and in June 2022 ING received an ESG rating of 'strong' from S&P Global Ratings. ING Group shares are also included in major sustainability and ESG index products of leading providers Euronext, STOXX, Morningstar and FTSE Russell. |
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.
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 financial information in this document, except as described otherwise, the same accounting principles are applied as in the 2022 ING Group consolidated annual accounts. All figures in this document are unaudited. Small differences 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 and customer behaviour, in particular economic conditions in ING’s core markets, including changes affecting currency exchange rates and the regional and global economic impact of the invasion of Russia into Ukraine and related international response measures (2) ongoing and residual effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and related response measures on economic conditions in countries in which ING operates (3) changes affecting interest rate levels (4) any default of a major market participant and related market disruption (5) changes in performance of financial markets, including in Europe and developing markets (6) fiscal uncertainty in Europe and the United States (7) discontinuation of or changes in ‘benchmark’ indices (8) inflation and deflation in our principal markets (9) changes in conditions in the credit and capital markets generally, including changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness (10) failures of banks falling under the scope of state compensation schemes (11) non-compliance with or changes in laws and regulations, including those concerning financial services, financial economic crimes and tax laws, and the interpretation and application thereof (12) geopolitical risks, political instabilities and policies and actions of governmental and regulatory authorities, including in connection with the invasion of Russia into Ukraine and the related international response measures (13) legal and regulatory risks in certain countries with less developed legal and regulatory frameworks (14) prudential supervision and regulations, including in relation to stress tests and regulatory restrictions on dividends and distributions (also among members of the group) (15) ING’s ability to meet minimum capital and other prudential regulatory requirements (16) changes in regulation of US commodities and derivatives businesses of ING and its customers (17) application of bank recovery and resolution regimes, including write down and conversion powers in relation to our securities (18) outcome of current and future litigation, enforcement proceedings, investigations or other regulatory actions, including claims by customers or stakeholders who feel misled or treated unfairly, and other conduct issues (19) changes in tax laws and regulations and risks of non-compliance or investigation in connection with tax laws, including FATCA (20) operational and IT risks, such as system disruptions or failures, breaches of security, cyber-attacks, human error, changes in operational practices or inadequate controls including in respect of third parties with which we do business (21) risks and challenges related to cybercrime including the effects of cyberattacks and changes in legislation and regulation related to cybersecurity and data privacy (22) changes in general competitive factors, including ability to increase or maintain market share (23) inability to protect our intellectual property and infringement claims by third parties (24) inability of counterparties to meet financial obligations or ability to enforce rights against such counterparties (25) changes in credit ratings (26) business, operational, regulatory, reputation, transition and other risks and challenges in connection with climate change and ESG-related matters (27) inability to attract and retain key personnel (28) future liabilities under defined benefit retirement plans (29) failure to manage business risks, including in connection with use of models, use of derivatives, or maintaining appropriate policies and guidelines (30) changes in capital and credit markets, including interbank funding, as well as customer deposits, which provide the liquidity and capital required to fund our operations, and (31) 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.
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