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ING posts 1Q12 underlying net profit of EUR 705 million

09 May 2012 ... min read

ING posts 1Q12 underlying net profit of EUR 705 million

9 May 2012

  • ING Group 1Q12 net profit totalled EUR 680 million, including the impact of divestments and special items
  • Bank underlying result before tax increased 65.1% from 4Q11 to EUR 1,126 million, helped by lower impairments. Results include EUR -304 million of valuation adjustments (CVA/DVA) and fair value changes on own Tier 2 debt as credit spreads tightened. Excluding that impact, Bank results were down just 6.8% from a strong 1Q11
  • Insurance posted an operating result of EUR 475 million, supported by a strong investment margin and higher fees and premium-based revenues. Sales rose 5.1% from 1Q11, and jumped 29.6% from 4Q11. Underlying results were impacted by losses on hedges to protect regulatory capital, leading to a pre-tax underlying loss of EUR 18 million
  • Capital ratios remained strong: ING Bank’s core Tier 1 ratio strengthened to 10.9%, reflecting the sale of ING Direct USA and ongoing capital generation. The Insurance IGD solvency ratio remained stable at 225%
  • ING has begun discussions with the Dutch State, and together with the State will soon start discussions with the European Commission following the favourable court ruling on ING’s appeal

Chairman's Statement

“The operating environment remained challenging in the first quarter, as the European sovereign debt crisis persisted, increasing volatility on financial markets. The impact of this environment was evident in our underlying results, which declined from a strong first quarter last year; however, earnings for both Bank and Insurance improved from the previous quarter,” said Jan Hommen, CEO of ING Group.

“Bank results rose 65.1% from the fourth quarter, supported by lower impairments, despite a negative CVA/DVA adjustment in the first quarter of 2012. Expenses declined compared with both prior quarters, and loan loss provisions improved slightly from the fourth quarter, but are expected to remain elevated given the weakening economic environment in Europe. Although competition for savings remained intense, Retail Banking attracted EUR 11.4 billion in new deposits, further strengthening the funding position of ING Bank, and on professional markets the Bank raised EUR 9.2 billion of long-term funding. The capital position strengthened further with a 10.9% core Tier 1 ratio.”

“Insurance results recovered from the fourth quarter, though underlying earnings continue to be impacted by mark-to-market losses on hedges to protect regulatory capital. Operating results remained solid, driven by a strong investment margin and higher fees and premium-based revenues as sales gained momentum in Asia, the US and Central Europe.”

“While ING welcomed the favourable court ruling on ING’s appeal against the European Commission, we remain committed to the decision to separate the banking and insurance operations, and are making good progress in preparing our Insurance and Investment Management businesses for stand-alone futures in Europe and the US.”

Analyst and investor conference call, 9 May 2012, 9:00 Amsterdam time

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Media conference call, 9 May 2012, 11:00 Amsterdam time

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DISCLAIMER

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, the same accounting principles are applied as in the 2011 ING Group 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, 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) consequences of a potential (partial) break-up of the euro, (4) the implementation of ING’s restructuring plan to separate banking and insurance operations, (5) changes in the availability of, and costs associated with, sources of liquidity such as interbank funding, as well as conditions in the credit markets generally, including changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness, (6) the frequency and severity of insured loss events, (7) changes affecting mortality and morbidity levels and trends, (8) changes affecting persistency levels, (9) changes affecting interest rate levels, (10) changes affecting currency exchange rates, (11) changes in investor, customer and policyholder behaviour, (12) changes in general competitive factors, (13) changes in laws and regulations, (14) changes in the policies of governments and/or regulatory authorities, (15) conclusions with regard to purchase accounting assumptions and methodologies, (16) changes in ownership that could affect the future availability to us of net operating loss, net capital and built-in loss carry forwards, (17) changes in credit-ratings, (18) ING’s ability to achieve projected operational synergies and (19) the other risks and uncertainties detailed in the Risk Factors section contained in the most recent annual report of ING Groep N.V. 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 buy, any securities.

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