The FINANCIAL -- ING Group’s
2Q12 net result was EUR 1,171 million, or EUR 0.31 per share, including
divestments and special items.
The results of Asia Insurance/IM are reported as results from discontinued operations.
Bank underlying result before tax amounted to EUR 995 million despite higher risk costs and de-risking measures.
As ING Group reported, insurance operating result improved to EUR 304 million. Underlying result before tax was EUR 229 million, including hedge gains and the change in the provision for separate account pension contracts in the Benelux.
ING’s capital position improved further. The Bank’s core Tier 1 ratio strengthened to 11.1%. The Insurance IGD solvency ratio rose to 240%. Given ING’s priority to repay the Dutch State, no interim dividend will be paid in 2012.
Chairman's Statement -- “ING posted solid second-quarter results. In these uncertain times the financial strength of the company is our highest priority: capital, liquidity and funding have all improved,” said Jan Hommen, CEO of ING Group. “As the eurozone crisis deteriorated, we accelerated our efforts to de-risk the investment portfolio at the Bank, and brought down our Spanish exposure to reduce the funding mismatch in that country. At Insurance, we continued to hedge to protect regulatory capital, leading to volatility in IFRS earnings.”
“Provisions for loan losses at the Bank increased as the macroeconomic environment weakened, and the net interest margin declined, despite easing competition for savings. We increased our vigilance on costs, and expenses declined for the second consecutive quarter. Progress on balance sheet optimisation is gaining traction, with integration initiatives reaching EUR 7.2 billion in the seven months ended in July. Commercially, the Bank generated strong retail deposit growth of EUR 4.3 billion during the second quarter, further strengthening the funding profile. Demand for lending remains weak, but total lending rose modestly as ING continued to support clients with their financial needs.”
“We continue to work tirelessly to deliver on our performance improvement plans and prepare our banking and insurance businesses for their independent futures. The sales process for our Insurance and Investment Management businesses in Asia is on track, and ING US made an important step with its inaugural benchmark debt issuance as it works to separate its funding and liquidity from the Group ahead of its planned IPO. For Insurance Europe, we are stepping up our efforts as we prepare for the base case of an IPO. As the Group moves forward with its transformation, our employees continue to place the utmost priority on the needs of our customers to deliver the exemplary service and products they require.”
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