ING was founded in 1991 by a merger between Nationale-Nederlanden and NMB Postbank Group. During the past years ING has become a multinational with diverse international activities.

The roots of ING can be traced to the insurers De Nationale Levensverzekering Bank and De Nederlanden van 1845 and to the public bank services such as De Rijkspostspaarbank and De Postcheque- and Girodienst, as well as to the Nederlandsche Middenstands Bank. These are the legal predecessors of the ‘founding fathers’ of ING: Nationale-Nederlanden and NMB Postbank Group.

The oldest legal predecessor is the Kooger Doodenbos from Koog in the province of North Holland, founded in 1743. During that period many regional funds were created to insure people from certain communities, professions, widows and orphans against bad fortune. Many of these small organisations were taken over by larger nationwide operating companies such as De Nationale Levensverzekering Bank. The fire insurers were the first to undertake international activities, starting in the Dutch Indies, but later also in the rest of Asia and in America. This created the foundation for the international company ING is today.

The pillarisation of Dutch society that separated Protestants, Catholics and Socialist/Liberals is also visible in the ING history. Banks with a Catholic or Protestant signature merged into the NMB and became part of ING. Professional groups also united in the banking business. Organisations such as the Credietbank for Koffiehuis en Restauranthouders (pubs and restaturants), the Bank voor den Diamantenhandel (diamond trade) and the Vakbondsspaarbank (Union Savings Bank) were involved in several mergers and acquisitions and finally became part of ING Bank and therefore part of the ING family.

The founding of ING as one company was started in 1990 when the legal restrictions on mergers between insurers and banks were lifted in the Netherlands. This prompted insurance company Nationale-Nederlanden and banking company NMB Postbank Groep to enter into negotiations. The merger into Internationale Nederlanden Groep took place in 1991. The market soon abbreviated the name to I-N-G. The company followed suit by changing the statutory name to ING Groep N.V. Since 1991, ING has developed from a Dutch company with some international business to a multinational with Dutch roots. This was achieved through a mixture of organic growth, such as the creation of ING Direct from scratch, as well as various large acquisitions.

The top of the company pedigree above shows the ‘founding fathers’ of ING; at the bottom you will find the companies that ING has acquired since its establishment.

In addition, companies were bought that have in the meantime been sold again. The first large acquisition took place in 1995, when ING took over Barings Bank. This acquisition increased the brand recognition of ING around the world and strengthened its wholesale banking presence in the emerging markets. Some of Barings’ activities were integrated in ING’s business units, while other parts were closed down or sold. In 1999, ING acquired the German BHF-Bank, but this Frankfurt-based merchant bank was divested in 2004. CenE bankiers also played an important role in ING’s history. It had been part of NMB since 1966, but in 2004 ING decided to sell CenE. And then there was Life of Georgia. This insurance company was acquired by Nationale-Nederlanden in 1979, resulting in a considerable increase in activities in the US. Via Life of Georgia, the activities in Asia expanded considerably. However in 2004, ING as a group had become well-established in both regions and Life of Georgia was sold. In 1956 an ING predecessor (de Nationale) bought de Tiel-Utrecht. This significantly increased the size of the company. But it was sold again in 1999 to De Goudse.

Other acquisitions, such as the Belgian Bank Brussels Lambert, strengthened the Group’s presence in the Benelux. In addition, the activities in de United States were doubled as a result of organic growth and the acquisition of Equitable of Iowa, ReliaStar, Aetna Financial Services and merchant bank Furman Selz.

ING is also active in other parts of the world. In 2001, ING acquired a majority interest in the Polish Bank Śląski and entered the Indian life insurance market through ING Vysya Life Insurance, a joint venture in Bangalore.

Furthermore ING participates in a number of financial institutions, such as Pacific Antai Life Insurance and the China Merchants Fund Management. It has also established a partnership with the Bank of Beijing. This has strengthened ING’s presence in the emerging markets of Asia, where ING has a longstanding presence. The Netherlands of 1845 had been active in China since 1886 and NMB Bank had joint ventures in 1974 (Inter-Alpha Asia).

During its short existence, ING has grown into a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services.

More information on ING is available at About us.