ING issues shares for employee share plans

ING issues shares for employee share plans

Amsterdam, 16 March 2007

ING Groep N.V. has issued 5,215,790 (depositary receipts for) ordinary shares to fulfil the obligation arising out of the employee share plans. ING employees are granted conditional shares which become unconditional after three years if the employee remains at ING. The share plans granted in 2004 became unconditional at 15 March 2007. The total number of shares outstanding is now 2,211 million.

Of the newly issued shares ING bought back 4,075,830 at the opening price (EUR 30.48) at 15 March 2007 for the delta hedge book, which is used to hedge employee options, from employees who wished to sell their shares immediately.

The delta hedge position is adjusted periodically, mainly on a quarterly basis, during the open period in accordance with regulatory requirements and ING's policies to prevent market manipulation.

The hedge book currently holds 53.8 million (depositary receipts for) ordinary ING shares, representing 2.4 % of the total shares outstanding.

Press enquiries:
Media Relations, ING Group +31 20 576 5000, media.relations@ing.com

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 60 million private, corporate and institutional clients in 50 countries.
With a diverse workforce of over 120,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.