Amsterdam, 26 February 2002

ING concludes acquisition majority interest in DiBa (Germany)

ING is pleased to announce that it has acquired a further 21% share participation in DiBa (Allgemeine Deutsche Direktbank) from BGAG. Through this acquisition, ING has expanded its 49% interest in DiBa to a majority interest of 70%. BGAG, the investment company of a number of German trade unions, still owns 30% of the shares in DiBa.

Following the conclusion of ING's majority interest, Hans Verkoren, Global Head ING Direct, has been appointed chairman of the DiBa Supervisory Board ('Aufsichtsrat').

"The completion of this acquisition marks a further step into the German market, which is of great importance to ING, " said Ewald Kist, chairman of the ING Group Executive Board.

DiBa is market leader in the fast-growing sector of direct banking services in Germany with well over 800,000 clients at the end of 2001. The activities of DiBa form an excellent fit with the direct distribution and e-business strategy of ING Group.

ING Group's strategy is to enter mature retail markets world-wide with the ING Direct concept. ING Direct was launched in Canada in May 1997 and currently also has operations in Spain, Australia, France, the United States and Italy. ING Direct offers transparent banking, insurance and investment products via telephone, direct mail and the internet. In 2001, ING Direct (excluding DiBa) more than doubled its client base and funds entrusted to 1.75 million and EUR 17.8 billion respectively.

Press enquiries:

Joyce Hulst, ING Group Corporate Communications, tel. +31 20 541 5469