ING issues shares for employee share plans

ING issues shares for employee share plans

Amsterdam, 1 April 2008

ING Groep N.V. has issued 1,734,638 (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 2005 became unconditional at 31 March 2008. The total number of shares outstanding is now 2,246 million.

Of the newly issued shares ING bought back 1,042,546 at the opening price (EUR 23.50) at 31 March 2008 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, in accordance with regulatory requirements and ING's policies to prevent market manipulation.

The hedge book currently holds 33.5 million (depository receipts for) ordinary ING shares, representing 1.5 % of the total shares outstanding.

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ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services to over 75 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of about 120,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.