ING posts 4Q2021 net result of €945 million, FY2021 net result of €4,776 million

Amsterdam,

CEO statement

“Looking back on 2021, I’m pleased with our performance,” said ING CEO Steven van Rijswijk. “Despite the challenging conditions impacting customers, colleagues and society – from the ongoing pandemic to supply-chain pressures, rising energy prices and inflation – we achieved good results. I’m encouraged by increased lending volumes and strong fee income growth in the final quarter of 2021, a sign of growing confidence in the economy as the world seeks ways to live with the coronavirus. Both of these contributed to a 10.9% increase in total income compared to the same quarter in 2020.

“I’m particularly satisfied with the consistent growth we’ve recorded in our diversifying sources of income. Fee income rose 17% in 2021 compared to a year earlier and contributed 19% to our total full-year income. This has been supported by our customers’ changing preferences in the low-interest environment and by an expansion in our range of investment products. In Germany, thanks to products and services like digital advice and our cooperation with an online investment manager, we now have more than two million investment-product accounts, an increase of 21% in 2021 compared to last year.

“Smart and easy digital investment products help us to establish and deepen primary banking relationships, as do continuous improvements to the seamless digital experience we offer. For example, the mortgage application process in the Netherlands has been made less complex as customers can now easily collect and submit necessary data in an app directly from various government sources – saving time for both the customer and the bank, and increasing the number of customer applications that are ‘first time right’. We gained 481,000 primary customers in 2021, bringing the total number to 14.3 million, 3.5% higher than at end-2020.

“Unfortunately, there are also times when we have to make difficult decisions that affect our customers and colleagues. Following the strategic review announced in June, we decided to exit the retail banking market in France. This follows earlier decisions to exit the retail banking markets of Austria and the Czech Republic, after we determined that reaching the required local scale within a reasonable timeframe was unlikely. We believe these are the best strategic decisions for ING, allowing us to redeploy capital and resources to grow other areas of our business. I’m very grateful to our colleagues in France, Austria and the Czech Republic, for their ongoing customer commitment during times of professional and personal disruption.

“Looking ahead to 2022, ING is well prepared to navigate the current operating environment, with solid capital buffers, a strong risk profile and a focus on execution, supported by our talented and motivated colleagues across the globe. We will continue to strengthen our ESG profile and deliver on our sustainability commitments. We supported 317 sustainability deals in 2021, which is almost two-and-a-half times the number of last year. We’re also helping clients in the transition to a low-carbon world in line with our Terra approach. As the urgency for climate action increases, corporations, governments and regulators have to work together to define new ways of doing business that align economic growth with positive environmental and social impact – and ING is determined to continue to have a leading role in this collaborative approach.”

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Note for editors

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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 more than 57,000 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 strategy, evidenced by ING’s leading position in sector benchmarks.
ING's ESG rating by MSCI was affirmed 'AA' in December 2021. ING Group shares are included in major sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) index products of leading providers STOXX, Morningstar and FTSE Russell. In January 2021, ING received an ESG evaluation score of 83 ('strong') from S&P Global Ratings.

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.

ING Group’s annual accounts are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (‘IFRSEU’). In preparing the financial information in this document, except as described otherwise, the same accounting principles are applied as in the 2020 ING Group consolidated annual accounts. The Financial statements for 2021 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 differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements due to a number of factors, including, without limitation: (1) changes in general economic conditions and customer behaviour, in particular economic conditions in ING’s core markets, including changes aff ecting currency exchange rates (2) the eff ects of the Covid-19 pandemic and related response measures, including lockdowns and travel restrictions, on economic conditions in countries in which ING operates, on ING’s business and operations and on ING’s employees, customers and counterparties (3) changes affecting interest rate levels (4) any default of a major market participant and related market disruption (5) changes in performance of financial markets, including in Europe and developing markets (6) political instability and fiscal uncertainty in Europe and the United States (7) discontinuation of or changes in ‘benchmark’ indices (8) inflation and deflation in our principal markets (9) changes in conditions in the credit and capital markets generally, including changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness (10) failures of banks falling under the scope of state compensation schemes (11) non-compliance with or changes in laws and regulations, including those concerning financial services, financial economic crimes and tax laws, and the interpretation and application thereof (12) geopolitical risks, political instabilities and policies and actions of governmental and regulatory authorities (13) legal and regulatory risks in certain countries with less developed legal and regulatory frameworks (14) prudential supervision and regulations, including in relation to stress tests and regulatory restrictions on dividends and distributions, (also among members of the group) (15) regulatory consequences of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, including authorizations and equivalence decisions (16) ING’s ability to meet minimum capital and other prudential regulatory requirements (17) changes in regulation of US commodities and derivatives businesses of ING and its customers (18) application of bank recovery and resolution regimes, including write-down and conversion powers in relation to our securities (19) outcome of current and future litigation, enforcement proceedings, investigations or other regulatory actions, including claims by customers who feel mislead and other conduct issues (20) changes in tax laws and regulations and risks of non-compliance or investigation in connection with tax laws, including FATCA (21) operational risks, such as system disruptions or failures, breaches of security, cyber-attacks, human error, changes in operational practices or inadequate controls including in respect of third parties with which we do business (22) risks and challenges related to cybercrime including the effects of cyber-attacks and changes in legislation and regulation related to cybersecurity and data privacy (23) changes in general competitive factors, including ability to increase or maintain market share (24) the inability to protect our intellectual property and infringement claims by third parties (25) inability of counterparties to meet financial obligations or ability to enforce rights against such counterparties (26) changes in credit ratings (27) business, operational, regulatory, reputation and other risks and challenges in connection with climate change (28) inability to attract and retain key personnel (29) future liabilities under defined benefit retirement plans (30) failure to manage business risks, including in connection with use of models, use of derivatives, or maintaining appropriate policies and guidelines (31) changes in capital and credit markets, including interbank funding, as well as customer deposits, which provide the liquidity and capital required to fund our operations, and (32) 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.

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