ING 2016 underlying net profit EUR 4,976 million; FY 2016 dividend of EUR 0.66 per ordinary share
Amsterdam, 2 February 2017, 07:00 CET
- ING records robust commercial growth in 2016 while achieving a number one NPS score in 7 of 13 retail markets
- ING gained over 1.4 million new retail customers and grew primary relationships by 8.1% to 9.7 million
- Business growth was robust in 2016 with EUR 34.8 billion net core lending growth and EUR 28.5 billion net customer deposit inflow
- ING Bank full-year 2016 underlying net profit of EUR 4,976 million, up 17.9% from full-year 2015
- Strong full-year 2016 results reflect robust commercial growth at resilient margins and a continued decline in risk costs
- 4Q16 underlying result before tax was EUR 1,955 million as income grew in line with higher business volumes
- ING Group fully-loaded CET1 ratio strengthened to 14.2%; Board proposes full-year 2016 dividend of EUR 0.66 per share
- ING proposes to pay final cash dividend of EUR 0.42 per ordinary share, following August 2016 interim cash dividend of EUR 0.24
CEO Statement
“ING has made significant progress in accelerating our Think Forward strategy, while consistently delivering on our customer promise,” said Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group. “Our success in providing an exceptional banking experience is evident in the strong set of commercial and financial results that we posted for both the fourth quarter of 2016 and for the full year.”
“In 2016, we introduced a steady wave of insightful financial tools to make banking easier and more accessible for customers, who are increasingly digital and self-directed. We also expanded the breadth of our innovation capabilities through ongoing internal efforts and by nurturing more than 70 active fintech partnerships. These and other initiatives supported customers’ needs and drove our robust commercial growth, while underscoring our track record as a leader in digital banking.”
“ING attracted 1.4 million new retail customers over the course of 2016, bringing our global customer base to 35.8 million. Of this total, 9.7 million are primary bank customers, which is an increase of 8.1% year-on-year. Our most recent Net Promoter Scores rankING Bank as number one relative to competitors in seven of our 13 retail markets. These achievements reflect the hard work and focus of our employees to deliver a differentiating customer experience, each and every day.”
![Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group](/upload/28f0156e-edda-45a3-a3d9-f8620f44937f_Ralph-Hamers_200.jpg)
Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group
“Business growth was robust across ING Bank in 2016, with net customer deposits increasing by EUR 28.5 billion, or 5.6%. We realised net growth in core lending of EUR 34.8 billion, which represents a 6.5% rise year-on-year. We also continued to support the transition to a greener economy, and our financing of sustainable projects and clients that are environmental outperformers rose to EUR 34.3 billion at year-end.”
“For the full-year 2016, ING Bank recorded an underlying net profit of EUR 4,976 million, up 17.9% from 2015. This strong performance was driven by robust commercial growth at resilient margins and declining risk costs, and was achieved despite higher regulatory costs. ING Bank’s full-year underlying return on equity rose to 11.6% from 10.8% in 2015. In the fourth quarter of 2016, the underlying result before tax of ING Bank was EUR 1,955 million, reflecting continued positive momentum in both Retail and Wholesale Banking. Income grew both year-on-year and sequentially in line with volume growth, while expenses and risk costs both declined year-on-year.”
“ING Group’s 2016 net result was EUR 4,651 million, or 16.0% higher than in 2015, including
“In the past year, ING took important steps to start a path of convergence towards one digital banking platform, which will enable us to keep getting better in the face of changing customer behaviour and industry dynamics. I am convinced that the acceleration of our Think Forward strategy will allow us to build on our position of strength for the benefit of our customers.”
![Consolidated results](/upload_mm/5/1/7/c9f5c3c2-7974-42fe-8ea9-e1c91518ae1c_4Q2016_ConsolidatedResults_700_500x587.png)
Analyst and investor conference call
2 February 2017, at 9:00 a.m. CET
NL +31 (0)20 703 8261
UK +44 (0)330 336 9411
US +1 719 325 2202
Listen to the investor conference call at www.ing.com
Media conference call
2 February 2017, at 11:00 a.m. CET
NL +31 (0)20 531 5871
UK +44 203 365 3210
Listen to the media conference call at www.ing.com
ING PROFILE
ING is a global financial institution with a strong European base, offering banking services through its operating company ING Bank. The purpose of ING Bank is empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. ING Bank’s 52,000 employees offer retail and wholesale banking services to customers in over 40 countries.
ING Group shares are listed on the exchanges of Amsterdam (INGA NA, INGA.AS), Brussels and on the New York Stock Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N).
Sustainability forms an integral part of ING’s corporate strategy, which is evidenced by ING Group shares being included in the FTSE4Good index and in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Europe and World) where ING is among the leaders in the Banks industry group.
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION
Elements of this press release contain or may contain information about ING Groep N.V. and/ or ING Bank N.V. within the meaning of Article 7(1) to (4) of EU Regulation No 596/ 2014.
Projects may be subject to regulatory approvals. Insofar as they could have an impact in Belgium, all projects described are proposed intentions of the bank. No formal decisions will be taken until the information and consultation phases with the Work Council have been properly finalised.
ING Group’s annual accounts are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (‘IFRS-EU’). In preparing the financial information in this document, except as described otherwise, the same accounting principles are applied as in the 2015 ING Group consolidated annual accounts. The Financial statements for 2016 are in progress and may be subject to adjustments from subsequent events. All figures in this document are unaudited. Small differences are possible in the tables due to rounding.
Certain of the statements contained herein are not historical facts, including, without limitation, certain statements made of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to diff er materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements due to, without limitation: (1) changes in general economic conditions, in particular economic conditions in ING’s core markets, (2) changes in performance of financial markets, including developing markets, (3) consequences of a potential (partial) break-up of the euro, (4) potential consequences of European Union countries leaving the European Union, (5) changes in the availability of, and costs associated with, sources of liquidity such as interbank funding, as well as conditions in the credit markets generally, including changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness, (6) changes affecting interest rate levels, (7) changes aff ecting currency exchange rates, (8) changes in investor and customer behaviour, (9) changes in general competitive factors, (10) changes in laws and regulations, (11) changes in the policies of governments and/or regulatory authorities, (12) conclusions with regard to purchase accounting assumptions and methodologies, (13) changes in ownership that could affect the future availability to us of net operating loss, net capital and built-in loss carry forwards, (14) changes in credit ratings, (15) ING’s ability to achieve projected operational synergies and (16) the other risks and uncertainties detailed in the most recent annual report of ING Groep N.V. (including the Risk Factors contained therein) and ING’s more recent disclosures, including press releases, which are available on www.ING.com. Any forwardlooking statements made by or on behalf of ING speak only as of the date they are made, and, ING assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or for any other reason.
This document does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction.