Risk management
COMPLIANCE AND OPERATIONAL RISKS
ING believes that good compliance management is in the best interest of its customers, shareholders and staff, and is important for the way ING does business. Complementary to this, effective control and management of operational risks leads to more stable business processes and lower operational risk costs.
Acting with integrity and preserving ING’s reputation is of paramount importance. Complying with relevant laws, regulations and ethical and internal standards, in both letter and spirit, is a prerequisite for this. Reputation risk is defined as the current and prospective impact on earnings and capital arising from negative public opinion. This may affect the ability to establish new relationships or services or continue servicing existing relationships. This risk may also expose an institution to litigation, financial loss, or a decline in its customer base. Managing reputation risk is therefore an essential part of ING’s business strategy, taking into account all stakeholders, whose perception of ING determines its reputation. Risks or uncertainties, both positive and negative, are carefully managed, as reputation risk does not exist in isolation – rather, all risks may impact on reputation.
Within ING everything centres on people and trust. ING’s Executive Board and Senior Management share a clear vision of reputation management that goes well beyond the compliance and operational risk functions itself and drives the process of delivering on that vision. ING therefore expects the highest levels of personal conduct and integrity from all its employees and managers in order to safeguard its reputation.