‘We want to be a tech company with a banking license’ – Ralph Hamers
8 August 2017
CEO Ralph Hamers has told The Banker that he wants ING to be seen as a tech company with a banking license.
Speaking from New York, Hamers said analysts look at us like a bank. “We want to portray ourselves as a tech company with a banking license. Even further, I think we should be the largest bank without a balance sheet if you really take it into the future."
Speaking about ING’s valuation, Hamers said every new client that we get is costing us in the first year and if analysts value us on a multiple basis, my net earnings are lower because I’m growing.
“So I don’t get credited for my growth whereas tech companies do,” he said.
Hamers said every year the Bank grows by 1.4 to 1.5 million new customers.
“We can show that new customers coming in, over time, generate value even in a digital model because we’ve turned around from being a savings model to a primary banking model,” he said.
In the two videos published by The Banker, Hamers also talks further about ING’s business model, the need to connect to ecosystems or be an ecosystem yourself, and the importance of being a first mover.
The Banker's editor Brian Caplen interviews ING CEO Ralph Hamers about the bank's digital strategy. [10:25]
ING aims to have the same platform everywhere, just like the big tech companies. Ralph Hamers elaborates on this topic to Brian Caplen, editor of the Banker. (13:02 min)
A more elaborate recap article about these two video interviews is also published by the Banker.