The FINANCIAL -- ING announced today that it has completed the sale of ING Direct Canada to Scotiabank with a net transaction gain of EUR 1.1 billion after tax.

As announced on 29 August 2012, the transaction is a result of ING’s continuous evaluation of its portfolio of businesses and is in line with ING’s strategic objectives of sharpening the focus of the bank and further strengthening its capital position.

As ING announced, the total consideration for the transaction is CAD 3.1 billion (EUR 2.4 billion at current exchange rates) with a total capital release for ING of EUR 1.3 billion. As a result, the sale will further strengthen ING Bank’s capital position with a positive impact on the core Tier 1 ratio of approximately 50 basis points, leading to a pro-forma core Tier 1 ratio of 12.6 percent at closing, based on ING Bank’s core Tier 1 ratio of 12.1 percent at 30 September 2012.

As previously announced, Scotiabank will assume the responsibility to redeem a locally issued lower tier 2 bond (ISIN CA 456847AA01) on 5 March 2013, which is the first eligible call date after closing. The bond has a total outstanding amount of CAD 321 million and carries a guarantee from ING Bank N.V..

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