Bigger Story This article is part of ING's Annual Review 2015. read the 2015 Annual review

How we create value for society

Our products and services

We add value by delivering products and services that aim to empower people and fuel economic growth. Examples of this are payments services, which help companies run smoothly, and mortgages, which help people buy a home.

Human

We believe that in addition to assisting customers, a bank should also give employees the means to shape and improve their own futures. We believe in self-reliance. It is what we want to enable in our customers and in our colleagues. As an employee you can discover what motivates you, develop your talents and take charge of your career.

Financial

As a bank, we enable the flow of money in the economy, and facilitate payments and transactions. We take in savings and largely transform them as loans. Our profitability in 2015 was strong, enabling us to contribute to economic development by paying wages, taxes and dividends.

Intellectual

In a world marked by rapid advances in technology, we place a high priority on innovation within ING to stay a step ahead and to meet changing customer needs. We are experimenting with the Agile way of working to increase the pace of innovation. We also create intellectual capital through the expertise we are developing in areas like environmental and social risk management, sustainable finance and data analytics.

Social and network

We add value for our customers by making banking more accessible. Many consumers feel challenged when faced with making financial decisions. We see an important role that we can play in empowering our customers by giving them products, services and tools that make it easier to handle money matters and make sounder financial decisions.

Environmental capital

Our activities impact the environment. This includes the direct effect we have from the operations of our buildings, IT systems and business travel. However, our indirect impact on the environment is much greater through our financing portfolio and our procurement supply chain. We are committed to reducing our own footprint by 20% in 2020 and to working closely with both customers and suppliers to help them adapt and take advantage of opportunities in the low-carbon economy of the future.