ING-DiBa at 50
9 October 2015
What began as a small union bank for employees in 1965 has now grown into Germany’s third largest bank. On 11 October, ING-DiBa will celebrate 50 years of banking in Germany.
Dirk Nowitzki, a member of the German national basketball team and ING-DiBa brand ambassador.
ING’s involvement with Germany’s leading direct bank began in 1998, when we acquired a 49% stake in Frankfurt-based Allgemeine Deutsche Direktbank (DiBa) to establish a solid position in the German direct banking market. Back then, DiBa had 500,000 customers. In February 2002, ING moved to a majority 70% stake and moved to full ownership in 2003.
Today, ING-DiBa has more than eight million customers and has won many awards including Germany’s most preferred bank for nine years in a row. It is now Germany’s largest savings bank.
ING Germany CEO Roland Boekhout said ING-DiBa’s success can be put down to three things: simplicity, focus on the customer, and its low cost structure.
He said the direct bank stayed over the years with what it knew worked well: simple and attractively priced products with no hidden fees and no small print.
He said the company’s non-hierarchical structure meant that employees were empowered to feel they could individually make a difference for customers.
Because the company evolved from a bank for small savers, it had always retained a low cost culture and this is still a major focus in the bank’s business model, Boekhout said.
ING-DiBa is part of ING Germany, which also includes ING’s fast-growing commercial banking operations in the country.